A fluorescent-orange hat with the words "EVAC TEAM" in bold, black letters sits on the shelf in my office. I was designated a member of our office's safety team and am responsible for blocking anyone from using the elevator if we have to evacuate our building. Other members of FIRE CHIEF's team (because we write about fire stuff?) have also accepted assignments -- helping the disabled, pointing people to the stairwell and closing the doors of empty offices.

Our offices are on the 23rd floor of the IBM Building in Chicago. While the view of Chicago's lakefront is to die for, it's not worth dying for. This is in my thoughts lately because six people recently died in a high-rise fire in a county office building just a few blocks southeast of us. On Oct. 17, after a fire started on the 12th floor, they evacuated to the stairwells, according to published reports. The smoke was too thick to descend, so they tried to reenter the offices, but the stairwell doors locked upon exit. They were trapped.

The Monday after this tragedy, we received a notice from our building manager assuring us the stairwells of our building had air-evacuation systems and exit doors were unlocked on designated floors so that we could get back to office areas from the stairwell.

Also playing a role in the Chicago fire tragedy was the fact the renovated high-rise wasn't sprinklered. I'll bet Chicago is soon going to pass an ordinance requiring sprinkler systems on buildings that used to be grandfathered. Why do people have to die to get rules changed? We've heard that "people with causes" come out of the woodwork when there's a tragedy. Opportunists? No, it's more of a "SEE!"

Many are scrutinizing the Chicago Fire Department's response to the fire as well. Firefighters didn't discover the victims in the stairwell until 90 minutes after they arrived on scene, the reports say. According to one fire officer quoted in the Chicago Tribune, this fire "had an attitude."

My biggest question is this: Why isn't foam -- compressed air foam systems (or CAFS) -- used to fight high-rise fires? Seems to me foam would smother the flames and limit the smoke and water damage in high-rises same as it does in ground-level fires. CAFS enables firefighters to work with lighter hoses and control fires more quickly.

Twelve stories up, this fire was impossible to penetrate with foam from outside, but what about from inside the high-rise?

I spoke with a captain from Los Angeles County Fire Department and one of the authors of an ever-popular foam article we ran in July 2001. He agrees that foam could be used in high-rise fires. So why isn't it? Pick an excuse: Cost? Equipment maintenance? Chief doesn't want it?

I'm not selling foam or promoting any specific products, but I've read enough statistics and seen enough foam demos to know what foam can do. This isn't high-tech stuff anymore; it just requires a change in fireground tactics.

If the fire in that Chicago high-rise were controlled more quickly, would firefighters have found those people in the stairwells sooner? Would using foam to smother a fire in your community save a life? Isn't it worth considering?

Common sense, folks. Don't let a tragedy teach you the latest in life-saving technology.

Janet Wilmoth, Editor
jwilmoth@primediabusiness.com