102nd Floor Stairwell Sign

102nd Floor Stairwell Sign

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Description
Description: This damaged floor marker, labeled “Stairwell C, Floor 102,” was recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center.
Context: In a high-rise building, many people ignore the stairs until an emergency. For those below the impact zones in the World Trade Center, the stairs proved to be a lifeline to safety—about 20,000 people escaped the building. Above the impact zone in the north tower (floors 94 through 98), there was no hope as all three stairwells were blocked by fire and debris. Above the impact zone in the south tower (floors 78 through 84), those who did not evacuate immediately in the 17 minutes after the north tower crash had an extremely limited chance to escape through one partially blocked stairwell. Many believe that building improvements and training procedures following the 1993 bombing helped save many lives on September 11.
Object Name
Sign
recovery site
United States: New York, Fresh Kills
recovered
United States: New York, Manhattan, World Trade Center
Measurements
overall: 10 in x 12 in x 4 15/16 in; 25.4 cm x 30.50007 cm x 12.5001 cm
ID Number
2002.0238.04
accession number
2002.0238
catalog number
2002.0238.04
subject
September 11 Terrorist Attacks
related event
Attack on the World Trade Center
September 11th Attacks
See more items in
Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, 9/11
September 11
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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