As part of an ongoing two-year investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking interviews with the emergency personnel who responded, WTC survivors and people who were in contact with WTC victims on Sept. 11.

"Now is the time for the people who live or work in New York City to participate in this important federal investigation to improve the safety of buildings, occupants and first responders," said Jack Snell, director of NIST's Building and Fire Research Laboratory, at a press briefing in New York City on Sept. 17.

NIST investigators will be contacting survivors, people who were in contact with victims trapped in the buildings and first responders to ask them to share their experiences.

"We recognize these interviews will be difficult," said Snell. "We will not compel anyone to talk to us as part of these interviews, but rather to seek open voluntary participation. We respect the privacy and dignity of all who were directly affected by this tragedy, and seek their help in working together to reduce the risks to future generations."

These personal accounts will be used to study occupant behavior, evacuation and the emergency response to the disaster, investigators said. NIST plans to conduct up to 575 face-to-face interviews, 800 phone interviews and 15 focus groups this fall.

Snell said NIST has already accumulated vast amounts of data in an effort to reconstruct a detailed timeline of the disaster, yet many gaps in knowledge remain. "These include, for example: What was the state of the various building systems at the time of the attacks? What did people do? What sorts of barriers did they face, information did they need and difficulties did they encounter? What sorts of damage or fire did they see or sounds did they hear? What were the office furnishings that were combustible?"

Those with direct experience in the disaster are asked to contact NIST toll-free at 877-221-7828.

NIST is also interested in photos or videotape that document the initial damage to the towers and the subsequent fire growth and is accepting toll-free calls from anyone wishing to submit these materials at 877-453-4115. Those wishing to submit information anonymously can call a toll-free tip line at 888-804-7581. Click here for more details on participating in the study.

The interviews are part of two field-data collection projects NIST’s Building and Fire Research Laboratory is conducting: Project 7, which focuses on occupant behavior, egress and emergency communications; and Project 8, which focuses on fire service technologies and guidelines. The results are expected to help NIST make recommendations for improving practices, standards and codes for evacuation and emergency response in extreme events.

According to NIST, the interview data could lead to improvements in

• Occupant behavior and evacuation technologies and practices for tall buildings;

• Decision-making and situation awareness (for both evacuees and first-responders);

• The design of egress systems;

• The role of floor wardens and fire safety directors;

• The evacuation of people with disabilities;

• Firefighting technologies and practices for tall buildings;

• Command, control and communication systems for emergency response; and

• The content, timing and quality of emergency communications.

• The collapse of New York City’s twin towers was the worst building disaster in recorded history, killing some 2,800 people. It was also the largest multiple line-of-duty death incident in the history of the fire service, taking the lives of 343 members of the Fire Department of New York.

  NIST was given the authority to investigate major building failures by the National Construction Safety Team Act in October 2002. Full details and updates on these projects and others in NIST’s investigation of the WTC disaster are posted on the Web at wtc.nist.gov.