Gregory J. Cahanin, President, Cahanin Fire & Code Consulting, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Change is in the Air

The elevator may have fostered the development of high-rise buildings, but it has also created problems. First and foremost, from a life-safety perspective, is that elevator shafts are a ready path for heat and smoke in multi-story buildings. The hazards of vertical fire movement, in fact, became apparent as early as 1911, with New York's landmark Triangle Shirtwaist fire.