HIGH POINTS FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE "TRIANGLE OF LIFE",
> Edited by Larry Linn for MAA Safety Committee brief on 4/13/04.
> My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager
of the
> American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most
experienced rescue
> team. The information in this article will save lives in an
earthquake.
> I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with
rescue teams
> from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and
I am a
> member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United
Nations expert
> in Disaster Mitigation (UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years. I have
worked at
> every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous
> disasters.
> In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be
correct.
> The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of
Istanbul,
> Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical,
scientific test.
> We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins
> did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle
of life"
> survival method After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the
> rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The
> film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly
observable,
> scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed
there would have
> been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There
would
> likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my
method of the
> "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of
viewers on
> television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in
the USA, Canada and
> Latin America on the TV program Real TV.
> The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in
Mexico City
> during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk.
Every child was
> crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived
by lying
> down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene,
unnecessary and I
> wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the
time know
> that the children were told to hide under something.
> Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the
ceilings falling
> upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects,
leaving a space
> or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of
life". The
> larger the object, the stronger it is, and less it will compact.
The less
> the object compacts, the larger the void, and the greater the
probability
> that the person using this void for safety will not be injured.
The next time
> you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the
"triangles" you see
> formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will
see, in a
> collapsed building.
> I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000)
in how to
> survive, take care of their families, and to rescue others in
earthquakes.
> The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department is a professor
at Trujillo
> University. He accompanied me everywhere. He gave personal
testimony: "My
> name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue in Trujillo. When I
was 11
> years old, I was trapped inside of a collapsed building. My
entrapment occurred
> during the earthquake of 1972 that killed 70,000 people. I
survived in the
> "triangle of life" that existed next to my brother's motorcycle.
My friends
> who got under the bed and under desks were crushed to death [he
gives more
> details, names, addresses etc.]..I am the living example of the
"triangle of
> life". My dead friends are the example of "duck and cover".
> TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:
> 1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS
COLLAPSE is
> crushed to death -- Every time, without exception. People who
get under objects,
> like desks or cars, are always crushed.
> 2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl up in the
fetal position.
> You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival
instinct.
> You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next
to a sofa,
> next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but
leave a void
> next to it.
> 3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in
during an
> earthquake. The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves
with the
> force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse,
large survival
> voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less
concentrated,
> crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual
bricks. Bricks will
> cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
> 4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs,
simply
> roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels
can achieve a
> much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a
sign on the
> back of the door of every room, telling occupants to lie down on
the floor,
> next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
> 5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching television
and you
> cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie
down and curl up
> in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
> 6) Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse
is killed.
> How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward
or backward
> you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls
sideways you
> will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be
killed!
> 7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment
of
> frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the
building). The stairs
> and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other
until
> structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before
> they fail are chopped up by the stair treads. They are horribly
mutilated
> Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs.
The stairs
> are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not
> collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by
> screaming, fleeing people. They should always be checked for
safety, even when
> the rest of the building is not damaged.
> 8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If
Possible -
> It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather
than the
> interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter
of the building
> the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked;
> 9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road
above falls
> in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly
what happened
> with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The
victims of the
> San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles.
They were all
> killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and
sitting or lying
> next to their vehicles, says the author. Everyone killed would
have
> survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit
or lie next to
> them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them,
except for the
> cars that had columns fall directly across them.
> 10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper
offices and
> other offices with a lot of paper,that paper does not compact.
Large voids