PE did a separate video on how the US and European fire codes differ on how many fire escapes stairwells a building needs. The US says two, which substantially limits the designs for buildings and the square footage efficiency of adding another floor. He argued that maybe all of the other safety procedures mean we should review that decision and allow for higher density by eliminating the redundant stairwell.

But I saw a retrospective documentary on the WTC collapse, in which the star witness named people who only survived the second tower because they found a way to cross to the intact fire escape after the second plane hit right into one of them.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I suspect perhaps if the building is too tall for a ladder truck to reach you, then the building should provide that redundancy instead.