Posted on 10/06/2005 1:05:36 PM PDT by cloud8
EVERYONE who lives or works above the 13th floor in Melbourne should consider buying an escape parachute in case of a terror attack, Victoria's former top cop says.
Former chief commissioner Kel Glare said yesterday a parachute could make the difference between life and death in a terrorist attack or fire.
"I think it's a serious consideration for people above the 13th floor to equip themselves with a personal parachute," he said.
"The fire ladders will only reach to the 13th floor.
"If you're above that and you have something like we had in New York, there were people there leaping from windows dozens of stories up to certain death.
"With a personal parachute they at least would have a reasonable chance of survival."
Specialist emergency parachutes for high-rise dwellers with no parachuting experience can be ordered on the internet or through Australian parachute suppliers for about $2500.
Police Minister Tim Holding slammed Mr Glare's suggestion.
"This is irresponsible. It's wrong to be spreading such information," he said.
And the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said leaping from a burning building with a parachute was too risky.
"You couldn't do it in the middle of Melbourne," assistant chief fire officer Greg Bawden said. "Where would you land?"
He said a parachutist could fly "right into the tram wires and the overhead power lines and any firefighting activities that might be going on down in the street".
Mr Glare, who said he was not involved in any parachute company, said office workers could keep a parachute under the desk.
"You don't have to have any expertise. All you do is just throw yourself out," he said.
"It's a great piece of personal insurance."
For office workers and residents with sealed windows, Mr Glare said they could break a window or climb to the roof.
Emergency parachutes are designed to carry the person away from the building and out of danger, not directly downwards.
Melbourne parachute supplier the Freefall Factory believes an escape parachute is not such a crazy idea.
"If you're stuck in a building and the only way out is either over a balcony or through a window then sure, this is a good idea," operations manager John Berman said.
High-rise residents and office workers in Melbourne yesterday gave a mixed response. Some were bewildered, while others said it raised their fear of a terrorist attack.
Counter-terrorism design expert Peter Hoad, from Arup Security Consulting, said parachuting from a building could be more dangerous than staying put.
Most terror attacks involved explosives, unlike the World Trade Centre attack when planes flew into the towers.
"Large-scale explosions are generally at ground floor level or below. Very often by departing a building you're in fact placing yourself at greater risk," he said.
"Explosions are more often multiple than single blasts. So the threat is likely to repeat itself."
I think a rope/cable and a harness with a traction pulley on it would be sufficient. Perhaps they can build them into the stairwells?
I think a rope/cable and a harness with a traction pulley on it would be sufficient. Perhaps they can build them into the stairwells?
I had an idea that parachute opening [and usage] was best done in the open, as far away from the building walls as possible. I must have been wrong.
At least somebody's thinking creatively about how to get people out of high rise fires. It stands to reason that if you have no choice but to jump, having a parachute on will increase your chance of survival above zero percent.
Dang! I hate it when it double posts me...
Also, what about putting a big reservoir of water up on the top of the building so that they can get water DOWN in the event of a fire. It would have to be designed to tolerate earthquakes and winds, but should be doable.
Anyone who gets a chute for this purpose better get one set up for base jumping and be trained in how to use it.
Calling all base jumpers.
13th floor doesn't strike me as quite high enough,
even for a manual chute deployment by a trained
and non-panicked jumper.
Then there's the problems of rising winds in the
case of fire, landing in moving traffic, etc.
But if I worked in a tall tombstone, I'd want one ...
... assuming I had a way to open the window or
reliably smash a big enough hole in the glass.
My building doesn't have a 13th floor. According to the elevator here, I am on the 14th floor. Should I invest in a chute?
Decisions decisions.
And what if you work in a short building neighboring a tower? Find a job elsewhere or play close attention when they have problems?
Also have to beware of a jumper landing on top of your chute.
Hmm... I can't help but think of 100 or so people from different floors jumping at the same time. Chutes don't do much good when they're tangled with somebody elses.
I just calculated this about a week ago and I've also checked with several others. The agreement seems to be that 25 stories is about the minimum.
> a rope/cable and a harness with a traction pulley on it would be sufficient...
That might do it. My first thought was a fire house pole and a good pair of gloves :) But a thousand people evacuating a building by parachute? Yikes!
All high rise buildings will now be required to conduct base jumping clases.
Airborne - the only way to get to work in the morning.
13 is a bad # to jump from anyway.
There was discussion along this line shortly after 9-11. In fact ABC's GMA show had a representative from a parachute company whose firm was promoting a specialized parachute designed for people who worked, or lived, in high rises. GMA also had a NYC fire official on at the same time to give his thoughts on the idea. He appeared to be against the idea, citing dangerous wind currents between buildings etc., the GMA interviewer (a women) agreed with the fire official. The parachute company exec should have been able to slam dunk the objections by simply stating ... if you're in a high rise faced with the same situation as the WTC victims caught on the highest floors on 9-11 ... and you had a parachute ... what would you do? He wasn't quick enough ... and let a great opportunity slip away. You can rest assured if I worked in a high rise like the Sears Tower in Chicago I'd have a parachute in the closet, or under my desk.
They made a movie illustrating this.
Towering Inferno
I think.
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