I was aware of the inter-communication problems, but I was surprised by the stairwell prohibition during fire drills prior to 9/11. I assumed that following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, fire officials would have made sure that all the workers at the center were familiar with the stairwells. Was the prohibition imposed for concerns for liability for injuries occurring in stairwells during fire drills?

From Garcia's story:

The agency interviewed survivors and found that, although most had participated in a fire drill, nearly one-half had never used the stairwells in the buildings before the attacks. In fact, New York City prevents the use of stairwells during fire drills.

"I've never heard of another jurisdiction having such a prohibition," Sunder said.