Posted By Paul Maddock I would not even contemplate buying emergency parachutes (is this a joke by the way!). I have done some paragliding, so I can tell you that: 1. You would probably be contravening airspace rules 2. Only the most experienced of parachutists would be able to do so safely 3. This sounds like "base-jumpin", which is certainly illegal in the UK. ...sound like fun for the more adventurous staff though :-)

Posted By John Allen No this isn't a joke it is a serious question to which we safety practitioners must be prepared to give an answer. In the event of a fire the emergency procedure for the World Trade Centre only required the floor where the fire occurred and those immediately above and below it to be evacuated. Everyone else was required to keep working as normal. When the first bomb exploded there a few years ago it took more than six hours to evacuate the entire building. On the 11th of September even after the first tower was hit people in the second tower were advised to stay where they were. It is a situation reminiscent of the Piper Alpha disaster where those who followed the established drill (ie assemble in the accommodation) died, whereas those who jumped overboard survived. I don't know how many large towers we have in the UK of similar capacity to WTC, I guess there are one or two at Canary Wharf but it does mean that we need to re think the risk assessment for such large buildings. We normally discount a crashing civil airliner as a credible scenario in installation risk assessment. I assume the people involved in the emergency preparedness for the WTC made a similar assumption. These were prominent structures, well illuminated with anti collision lights, not in a direct flight path and in an area subject to strict air traffic control. The risk of accidental collision must have been very low. Now structures have been hit by civil airliners. In the current world climate it is difficult to argue that it could not happen again and therfore it must be considered as foreseeable. Risk assessments for large high rise buildings will have to take this scenario into account. This may include the need to consider alternative means of escape and while I think the idea of parachutes is far fetched a lot of people will buy them. Look how many have bought "gas masks" even if they have no idea what they are protecting themselves against! Owners of high rise buildings will have to review their emergency plans, their means of escape and may even have to consider the provision of last ditch personal escape devices. A plethora of these came onto the market after Piper A. Most importantly they will have to discuss and explain these plans to the people who work and live in such buildings. If done properly this should go a long way towards preventing hyeteria and the unnecessary purchase of devices such as parachutes. Regards John.