People Deserve To Know How Safe Is Safe Enough 10/2/2006
A condominium developer in California brags about a 30-in.-thick concrete core with double-helix-style stairwells that "enhance" safety. At about the same time, structural engineers testify at an International Code Council hearing that a proposed commercial building code to harden stairwells should be thrown out because, among other reasons, it is not based on any demonstrated "significant" risk to a building. Simply put, where's the projectile? The proposal is vetoed.
At the same hearings, a proposal to add disproportionate-collapse resistance to commercial building codes is rejected. Engineers, vehemently opposed to the change, rejoice. But then they promise to come back with a substitute proposal for the next code cycle.