NFPA releases 9/11 archive highlighting high-rise safety lessons

QUINCY, Mass.—The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released a new archival collection marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, highlighting research, investigations and safety improvements that emerged from the World Trade Center tragedy. 

The collection, titled “NFPA and the World Trade Center: 25 Years Later,” is housed within the NFPA Research Library and Archives and includes surveys, photographs, videos, reports, presentations and correspondence related to the attacks and their aftermath.

According to NFPA, the materials provide a detailed look at lessons learned from the destruction of the World Trade Center and the subsequent efforts by NFPA, FEMA, NIST and others to strengthen fire and life-safety practices for high-rise buildings and other occupancies.

“When the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, occurred and an unthinkable set of circumstances played out, we witnessed in real-time the impact of established fire and life safety systems and standards that enabled many people to escape to safety,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “At the same time, this horrific event exposed gaps and vulnerabilities that needed to be addressed.”

Much of the collection comes from work conducted by NFPA staff members Robert Duval and Rita Fahy, who contributed to investigations and reports prepared by FEMA and NIST following the attacks.

Duval, now NFPA's fire investigator and New England regional director, served on FEMA's Building Performance Assessment Team and visited the World Trade Center recovery site. The collection includes photographs, notes and related materials from his work on post-9/11 building performance studies.

The archive also features Fahy's evacuation surveys and research from both the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 2001 attacks. NFPA said her findings on occupant behavior during emergency evacuations challenged existing assumptions and helped inform changes to evacuation procedures. 

“Rita Fahy's research efforts captured unexpected findings from the 1993 bombing, including the fact that people behaved quite differently than previous research would have suggested,” Carli said. “These survey results were instrumental in making changes to evacuations that likely saved many lives in 2001.”  

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