National Institute of Standards and Technology 

National Construction Safety Team Act 

Annual Report 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Summary 

This annual report to Congress for FY 2010 is required by the National Construction 

Safety Team (NCST) Act. NIST did not undertake any new NCST investigations, nor 

did it continue any NCST investigations in FY 2010. The National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) issued the final report and recommendation on its study of the 

collapse of the Dallas Cowboys Indoor Practice Facility (that collapsed on May 2, 2009 

during a thunderstorm) on January 26, 2010. NIST is completing the draft final report on 

its study of a fire that occurred on June 18, 2007, in the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, 

South Carolina. The draft final report will be released in early FY2011. Both studies 

were conducted under other NIST legal authorities. 

Introduction

In October 2002, the President signed into law the National Construction Safety Team 

Act (P.L. 107-231), which authorized the Director of the NIST to establish National 

Construction Safety Teams for deployment after events causing the failure of a building 

or buildings that result in substantial loss of life or that pose significant potential for 

substantial loss of life. 

The purpose of these investigations is to improve the safety and structural integrity of 

buildings in the United States. A team shall: 

(A) establish the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure; 

(B) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures; 

(C) recommend as necessary, specific improvements to building standards, codes, and 

practices based on the findings made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B); and, 

(D)recommend any research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the 

structural safety of buildings, and improve the evacuation and emergency 

response procedures, based on the findings and recommendations of the 

investigation. 

Under Section 10 of the NCST Act, NIST is to provide by February 15 of each year a 

report that includes: 

(1) a summary of the investigations conducted by Teams during the prior fiscal year; 

(2) a summary of recommendations made by Teams in reports issued under Section 8 

during the prior fiscal year and a description of the extent to which those 

recommendations have been implemented; and, 

1
(3) a description of the actions taken to improve building safety and structural 

integrity by the National Institute of Standards and Technology during the prior 

fiscal year in response to reports issued under Section 8. 

This report summarizes NIST’s activities under the NCST Act for FY 2010. 

1. Investigations Conducted by NIST During FY 2010 

a. Investigations Conducted by Teams During FY 2010 

NIST did not undertake any new investigations under the National Construction Safety 

Team Act during fiscal year 2010, nor did it continue any NCST investigations during 

fiscal year 2010. 

b. Investigations Conducted by NIST Under Other Legal Authorities in FY 

2010 

NIST did not undertake any new studies under other legal authorities during FY2010. 

Under its other authorities, NIST issued the final report on study of a fabric-covered, steel 

frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys that 

collapsed during a thunderstorm on May 2, 2009 injuring twelve people, one seriously. 

Information on the study, including the final report, may be found on the NIST website at 

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/investigations/investigations.htm. 

NIST also completed a study of the fire that occurred on June 18, 2007, in the Sofa Super 

Store in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine fire fighters from the City of Charleston Fire 

Department lost their lives in the fire. A draft of the technical study report, in final 

review, describes the path and rapid growth of the fire, why the extent of the fire was not 

discovered early in the fire service response, and the impact of ventilation on the fire 

behavior. The report also analyses and compares building and fire codes and practices. 

The final report will recommend appropriate actions needed based upon the findings of 

the technical study. The draft final report will be issued for public comment in early 

FY2011. 

2. Summary of Recommendations Made by Teams in Reports Issued Under 

Section 8 of the NCST Act During FY 2010 

During FY2010, NIST did not issue a report under Section 8 of the NCST Act.

3. Actions Taken to Improve Building Safety and Structural Integrity During FY 

2010 

a. Actions Taken to Improve Building Safety and Structural Integrity During 

FY 2010 in Response to Reports Issued Under Section 8 of the NCST Act 

2
The International Code Council’s (ICC) final action hearings for the 2012 edition of the 

International Codes were held May 15-23, 2010 in Dallas, TX. The ICC’s technical 

committees approved additional significant code change proposals based on the 

NIST/World Trade Center (WTC) and the Station Nightclub Investigations (See 

attachment). A chart tracking the progress toward implementation of the NIST WTC 

Investigation Recommendations may be found at http://wtc.nist.gov. 

b. Actions Taken to Improve Building Safety and Structural Integrity During 

FY 2010 in Response to Studies Conducted Under Other NIST Authorities 

NIST issued its final report on the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys Practice Facility in January 

2010. NIST briefed the International Code Council’s (ICC) Code Technology Committee 

on the findings and recommendation of the study at their January 2010 meeting. NIST is 

continuing to work with these organizations to implement changes to existing codes and 

standards that are responsive to the recommendation. Owners of similar structures have 

undertaken special inspections and in some cases, instituted restrictions on the use of 

such facilities during inclement weather. 

4. Other NIST Activities Related to the NCST Act 

In FY 2010 NIST received 46 requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for 

information that NIST collected and created during the NIST WTC Investigation. In 

FY2010, NIST closed 39 FOIA requests related to the NIST WTC Investigation. NIST 

also continued to process eleven FOIA requests received prior to FY 2010 for similar 

information. In total, from FY 2006 through FY 2010, NIST received 145 FOIA requests 

for information related to the NIST WTC Investigation. Six of these FOIA requests have 

resulted in litigation. 

Documents responsive to the FOIA requests include the tens of thousands of photographs 

and videos collected by NIST during the WTC Investigation, interviews NIST conducted 

with first responders and building occupants, and thousands of documents provided to 

NIST related to the construction and maintenance of the WTC buildings, as well as the 

models created by NIST during the WTC Investigation. The processing of FOIA 

requests and participation in the litigation have proven to be extremely labor intensive, 

requiring significant commitment of NIST and other federal resources, including NIST 

technical and administrative staff and NIST, Department of Commerce, and Department 

of Justice legal staff. 

In responding to the WTC Investigation-related FOIA requests, where appropriate NIST 

has withheld certain types of information using the statutory FOIA exemptions found in 

paragraphs 7(c) and 7(d) of the NCST Act. Section 7(c) prohibits NIST from disclosing 

voluntarily provided safety-related information if that information is not directly related 

to the building failure being investigated and the NIST Director finds that the disclosure 

of the information would inhibit the voluntary provision of that type of information. 

Section 7(d) prohibits NIST from publicly releasing any information it receives in the 

3
course of an investigation under the NCST Act if the NIST Director finds that the 

disclosure of that information might jeopardize public safety. 

 

4
Attachment 1

Results of the International Code Council 2009/2010 Final Action Hearings 

May 2010 

The following code change proposals have been approved for inclusion in the 2012 

edition of the International Building Code. The code changes were approved during the 

Final Action Hearings held in Dallas, Texas in May 2010. 

• G49 09/10. Fire Service Access Elevator. This proposal will require two fire 

service elevators with a minimum 3500 lb capacity serving every floor of the 

building with an occupied floor more than 120 ft. above the lowest level of fire 

department access. 

• E1 09/10 Fire Safety and Evacuation Plans. This proposal will require fire safety 

and evacuation plans for all occupancies and buildings where required by the 

International Fire Code. This provision will provide consistent requirements for 

jurisdictions regarding fire safety and evacuation plans. 

• F25 09/10 Fire Command Center. This proposal will require the inclusion of a 

Building Information Card to be located at the Fire Command Center. The 

Building Information Card will put critical response information for a building in 

a user-friendly format and medium. 

• G159 09/10. Phase I Emergency Recall Operation. This proposal requires an 

independent key-operated “Fire Recall” switch and the designated level for each 

fire service elevator or group of fire service elevators. It also requires that an 

activation of any building fire alarm also initiate Phase I emergency recall of all 

fire service elevators. All other elevators will remain in normal service unless a 

Phase I emergency recall is manually initiated. If the building also employs 

occupant evacuation elevators, an independent, three-position key-operated “fire 

recall” switch shall be provided at the designated level for each fire service access 

elevator. 

• G162 09/10. Water Protection. This proposal will require an approved method of 

preventing water from entering the elevator hoistway due to operation of the 

automatic sprinkler system outside the fire service access elevator lobby. 

• G176 09/10. Lobby Doorways. This proposal requires each doorway to a fire 

service access elevator lobby or an occupant evacuation elevator lobby, other than 

the hoistway door, to have a 3⁄4 hour fire door assembly. 

• G164 09/10. Access. This proposal will require that the exit enclosure containing 

the standpipe shall have access to the floor without passing through the fire 

5
service access lobby. This will prevent smoke from entering the fire service 

access elevator lobby possibly causing a recall of the elevators. 

• G167 09/10. Fire Service Access Elevator Symbol. This proposal requires a 

standardized pictorial symbol designating which elevators are fire service access 

elevators and specifies size and location of the symbols. 

• G171 09/10. Phase I Emergency Recall Operation. This proposal requires an 

independent, key-operated three-position “Fire Recall” switch at the designated 

level for each occupant elevator. 

• G172 09/10. Occupant Elevator Activation. This proposal provides requirements 

for the activation of occupant evacuation elevators in the event of activation of an 

automatic sprinkler system, activation of smoke detectors, or approved manual 

controls. 

• G174 09/10. Water Protection. This proposal will require an approved method of 

preventing water from entering the elevator hoistway due to operation of the 

automatic sprinkler system outside the occupant evacuation elevator lobby. 

• F27 09/10 Emergency Responder Radio Coverage. This proposal will complete 

the necessary modifications to the code to ensure that emergency responder radios 

have coverage throughout new and existing buildings. 

• G3 09/10 Secondary Members. This proposal clarifies the definition of secondary 

structural members by including roof construction that does not have direct 

connections to the building columns. 

• E22 09/10 Minimum Egress Width. This proposal clarifies the multiple 

requirements related to egress width. There are no technical changes associated 

with this proposal. 

• G158 09/10. Automatic Sprinkler System. This proposal clarifies the prohibition 

against locating sprinklers in elevator machine rooms, elevator machine spaces, 

and elevator hoistways of fire service elevators. The proposal also clarifies the 

prohibition against the installation of shunt trip devices in fire service elevators. 

• G163 09/10. Lobby Enclosure. This proposal clarifies the requirement for 

enclosed fire service elevator access lobbies to state that they are not required at 

the level of exit discharge (defined term) rather than at street level. 

• G166 09/10. Protection of Wiring or Cables. This proposal clarifies that wiring 

and cables that provide control signals to fire service access elevators are not 

required to be protected provided that the wiring or cables do not serve Phase II 

emergency in-car operation. 

• E21 09/10 Means of Egress. This proposal reinstates the width requirements for 

stairs and other egress components in buildings with sprinklers and adds a 

requirement for an emergency voice/alarm communication system in these 

buildings. 

6
7

A proposal to remove the provision for increased bond strength of spray-applied fire 

resistive material as a function of building height was disapproved. The increased bond 

strength provision had been adopted in the 2009 edition of the International Building 

Code in response to the NIST WTC recommendations. Therefore, the increased bond 

strength requirement will remain in the 2012 edition of the International Building Code.