# How to survive WTC collapse/inferno? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830 "2006-08-15T14:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![deanc2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@deanc2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deanc2000)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/1 "2006-08-15T14:58:35Z")
I had heard some talk about someone surviving the WTC collapse by “riding” the skyscraper down as it collapsed. Is this true? What would be a way to have the best chance of surviving a situation where one couldn’t go down, but had to stay in a burning building? If I were working someplace high up, I would strongly consider having an emergency parachute with me, just in case I couldn’t escape down the stairs, but out the window. Has anyone ever heard of this, or done this before? deanc2000. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/2 "2006-08-15T15:22:24Z")
How would you ride it? I would imagine that if you sat on the roof, even if it stayed perfectly level the sudden decceleration as it hits the rest of the building and comes to a halt would surely be fatal? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/3 "2006-08-15T15:24:24Z")
1. [Urban Legend](http://www.snopes.com/rumors/survivor.htm). 2. Other than avoiding smoke inhalation and hoping to be rescued, probably none. 3. Probably wouldn’t work. Here’s one cite: [cite](http://www.securitymanagement.com/library/001502.html): > [@](#): > > Stewart Kidd, principal of the Specialist Loss Prevention Consultancy, president of the Institute of Fire Safety Management, and registrar of The Security Institute, has been approached by suppliers of parachutes since 9-11 but has yet to be convinced. “Where would you store the parachutes, how would you maintain them, and would you be able and willing to build a cantilever structure on the outside of each floor of the building for use as a jump-off point?,” challenges Kidd. “You can’t just jump out of the window of a tall building with a parachute, as you would kill yourself on the way down.” And here’s [another](http://www.moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P43687.asp) > [@](#): > > Parachuting experts point out that jumping from a high-rise building is extremely dangerous, more so if the jumper is inexperienced, or if the building is on fire. (A fire can create high winds that can slam jumpers back into the building they’re trying to escape from.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/4 "2006-08-15T15:28:36Z")
Am experienced BASE jumper would probably stand a non-zero (but possibly still rather low) chance of surviving a parachute jump from the window of a very tall building; for more or less anyone else, I expect the chances of it working are so close to zero that it isn’t worth thinking about. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/5 "2006-08-15T15:32:54Z")
Survival in such a situation rests almost entirely on being able to get out. Most people on the floors below the fires survived, while almost none above did. It’s as simple as that. When a building that big collapses and you’re still in it, pure luck is the only thing that’s going to save you. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/6 "2006-08-15T15:33:09Z")
> [@deanc2000](#): > > I had heard some talk about someone surviving the WTC collapse by “riding” the skyscraper down as it collapsed. Is this true? To add to the excellent debunking by **MLS** , this is essentially the same myth as the one that says you can survive a plummeting elevator by jumping up at the last minute. Both have the same flaw that there is stuff on top of you that is falling at the same rate and will flatten you. Only sheer luck can save you. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/7 "2006-08-15T15:34:48Z")
What if you’d gone up to the roof? Would your chances of survival still be nil, or would you increase them by a tiny bit? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/8 "2006-08-15T15:38:47Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > What if you’d gone up to the roof? Would your chances of survival still be nil, or would you increase them by a tiny bit? Would you be in effect falling from the height of the top of the tallest building in Manhattan, and into the ruins of that large building which is now mostly on fire? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/9 "2006-08-15T15:42:57Z")
From MLS’s link no. 1, using a piece of debris as some sort of makeshift parachute was tried out on Mythbusters (if that’s any authority 🙂 ). They seemed to show a fatal injury occured from only 2 floors up. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/10 "2006-08-16T11:47:02Z")
> [@deanc2000](#): > > I had heard some talk about someone surviving the WTC collapse by “riding” the skyscraper down as it collapsed. Is this true? > > What would be a way to have the best chance of surviving a situation where one couldn’t go down, but had to stay in a burning building? > > deanc2000. Keep the Fuck stick terrorists out of planes. That would be my plan. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/11 "2006-08-16T11:54:39Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > What if you’d gone up to the roof? Would your chances of survival still be nil, or would you increase them by a tiny bit? Well, you’d have the additional chance of being rescued by helicopter, so… yes. ---
**Author:** ![psychloan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@psychloan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychloan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/12 "2006-08-16T12:25:47Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Well, you’d have the additional chance of being rescued by helicopter, so… yes. A fire warden told me that a helicopter rescue from the roof is Hollywood fantasy. If the fire is bad enough that the building will likely collapse, you must go down and out at all costs, according to him. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/13 "2006-08-16T12:37:57Z")
There’s also a serious logistical issue of where to store the 50,000 parachutes needed for all potential users of (in this case) the World Trade Centre. Plus I was under the impression that buildings as large and tall as WTC created a v. strong updraft against their sides, to the extent that parachutes would quickly be tangled? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/48db29/32.png) [@Caffeine\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/14 "2006-08-16T12:57:03Z")
Just imagine all that pregnant women, nice old ladies and kids getting killed or injured during evacuation caused by false alarm… And following multi-million dollar lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/15 "2006-08-16T13:00:34Z")
> [@](#): > > A fire warden told me that a helicopter rescue from the roof is Hollywood fantasy. If the fire is bad enough that the building will likely collapse, you must go down and out at all costs, according to him. Amazing that your fire warden friend never heard of the [MGM Hotel Fire.](http://www.co.clark.nv.us/fire/mgm_doc.htm) This photo shows the helicopters picking people off the roof; over 300 people were rescued this way. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/16 "2006-08-16T14:28:12Z")
I’d say it’s impracticle for a number of reasons. How many people would have the balls to jump unless the fire was eating at them? Getting far enough away from the side of the building to allow a parachute to open would be another problem. Accessing the outside of the building; Break windows (glass falls down onto rescue workers)? Have emergency doors open up to a 1000’ drop-off? What would be the means of escape? Usually, buildings on fire don’t have lots of windows blasted out like the WTC. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and the only escape I could think of would be a roof-top rescue (helicopter), or some kind of rip-line system that would extend to the next building. It could entail some kind of cable and a series of hoists that could let you ride down/over to the next building. Some type of roof-top to roof-top means of travel. Still scarier than hell, but better than jumping. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/17 "2006-08-16T14:39:43Z")
There are quite a few [aerial views](http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/attack/buildings.html) of the WTC site just after the attacks. One cannot “ride the roof down” like riding one’s favorite woody out at Point Break because of the facts already stated- and if one examines the photos cited, one cannot find the roofs. Know why ? The fires that were fueled up and down the elevator shafts that caused the melting of the core support structures also did grevious damage to both roofs. The roofs were demolished on the way down. They didn’t even break up upon impact- due to the immense volume of material being vertically compressed, the roofs were likely a few hundred feet up from ground level when they were completely obliterated. Well. Completely obliterated is an emotional phrase. Let’s say they broke up into parts that would have guaranteed that anybody trying to surf down to safety would have been crushed to death. I had a pretty good first-hand view of what was left, as I was there on September 11th and September 12th, 2001. Trust me. There was no roof left from either Tower. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/18 "2006-08-16T17:45:00Z")
Almost ironically (given the context of this conversation), IIRC, Jackie Chan was scheduled to shoot something or other on 9/11/2001, but wasn’t there due to some last-minute scheduling change/mix-up. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/19 "2006-08-16T19:48:38Z")
“Riding” a collapsing 110-story high rise down to the ground is no more survivable than Slim Pickens’ final ride in “Dr. Strangelove.” The enormous kinetic energy imparted in such a catastrophic collapse would obliterate everything inside, which is precisely what happened on 9/11–twice. Everyone inside rode those two buildings down as they collapsed. Nearly 3,000 perished, none survived, case closed. Jumping out of a 90th story window with a parachute certainly isn’t an enviable option, but the odds of survival must certainly be higher than zero. With 2,000 degree flames licking at my skin, even a three percent chance of survival sounds appealing. Yes, a building jumper is totally inexperienced at parachuting and, yes, there’s a fire below, but what alternative has one? If you can find (or create) a large opening in a window–I know, it isn’t easy–you can leap and clear the building by perhaps 10 - 15 feet. IF you avoid the flames and IF the chute opens in the right direction and IF a half-dozen other nasty variables work out for you, you have a chance at survival. I like those odds. BTW, a worker in a high-rise need not store 5,000 chutes. Only one. Last point: When an “expert” tells me that parachuting off a high rise is “extremely dangerous,” how might he characterize staying inside that building when it is completely engulfed in flames? “Triple dangerous”? Silly. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830/20 "2006-08-16T20:10:09Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > Everyone inside rode those two buildings down as they collapsed. Nearly 3,000 perished, none survived, case closed. Actually, four people who were inside elevators in the South Tower did survive the collapse, and eight people who were inside elevators in the North Tower survived the collapse. [More from USA TODAY](http://www.usatoday.com/news/sept11/2002-09-04-elevator-usat_x.htm). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-survive-wtc-collapse-inferno/368830.md?page=2)