High-Rise Evacuation: When to Take the Stairs and When to Stay Put

The alarm goes off at 2 in the morning. You are on the 20th floor. The fire is a pan on a stove on floor 4, and the sprinkler over it already knocked it down. In most modern towers, the right move is to stay in your apartment with the door shut. That is the part of high-rise evacuation almost nobody gets taught, and it is what keeps families out of a stairwell full of smoke.

Everything that works in a house works against you here. A house has one front door and a two-minute window. A tower has two stairwells that might be the safest place in the building or the worst, and crews who need a while to reach you on foot. This is the vertical version of our guide to evacuation routes and meeting points.

Is total high-rise evacuation really the plan when the alarm sounds?

Usually not, and that is by design. A fire resistive high-rise is compartmented: the fire is meant to stay where it started while everyone else waits. Seattle Fire Department says it plainly: evacuating an entire high-rise "is not practical and could be dangerous." So the plan is phased. The Texas Department of Insurance gives the standard sequence: the fire floor and the floors directly above and below take the stairs first, and other floors wait.

FDNY splits the call on construction type. In a fireproof building a fire "will be contained to the portion of the building where the fire started," so staying put beats entering smoke-filled hallways. In a non-fireproof building, fires "are not easily contained to one portion of the building and can spread quickly," so you leave at once. One rule holds in both: if the fire is in your apartment, get out and call 911.

What should you learn about your building before anything else?

Four things, and one conversation with your building manager gets them.

1. Is it sprinklered? NFPA counted 4,200 high-rise fires a year with 3 civilian deaths in buildings with automatic extinguishing systems, against 7,200 fires and 50 deaths without. Injuries ran 162 against 536. Those are 1989 to 1998 averages, so take the gap as the lesson, not the exact count.

2. What does the alarm mean here? In some buildings everyone leaves. In others, only the fire floor and its neighbors get the message.

3. Where do both stairs discharge? Not "down." Which street, which lobby, which locked service corridor.

4. Is the structure fire resistive? The FDNY split only works if you know which building you're in.

The Tennessee State Fire Marshal also gives the definition worth memorizing: NFPA 101 calls a high-rise a building more than 75 feet above the lowest fire department vehicle access level, "roughly seven stories."

How long does it really take to walk down a high-rise stairwell?

Longer than you think, and the taller the building, the slower each person moves. NIST's Technical Note 1624 timed real fire drills: a 6-story building cleared in 411 seconds, an 11-story in 442, an 18-story in 1,031. That last is about 17 minutes, for healthy adults who knew the drill was coming.

Average speeds fell as buildings got taller: 0.83 m/s at 6 stories, 0.62 at 11, 0.40 at 18. NIST's literature table puts unimpaired descent at 0.49 to 1.3 m/s and mobility-impaired descent at 0.16 to 0.76 m/s, and records 0.2 m/s in the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, where the stairs were packed. Crowding, not fitness, sets the pace, and people don't start when the alarm does: pre-evacuation delays averaged 89 to 220 seconds. NIST publishes this in meters per second, not floors per minute, so we won't convert it into a tidy rule. Time your own stairs.

Pressurized stairs and counting floors in the dark

A stairwell in a tall building is often a smokeproof enclosure, with fans holding the stair at higher pressure than the floors so smoke gets pushed out rather than drawn in. That is why propping the stair door open is not a small sin. Codes also require a sign at each landing in stairs connecting more than 3 stories, 60 inches above the landing, showing floor level, the terminus top and bottom, roof access and the way to the exit discharge, per Camas Fire Department. In smoke you won't read it. You count landings, two per floor.

Why can't you use the elevator in a high-rise evacuation?

Because an elevator under fire conditions is a box that can open onto the fire floor. Heat and smoke can trip a call button, power can fail with you inside, and Texas notes an elevator cannot count "as one of the required means of egress." Tennessee is shorter: "Use the stairs to get out, never use the elevator."

There is a real exception, and it is mostly not for you. San Francisco Fire Department requires 2 fire service access elevators in new buildings over 120 feet, each rated for 3,500 pounds and sized for an ambulance stretcher. Those are for firefighters. Newer towers there also put passenger elevators under Occupant Evacuation Operation, a controlled mode run through the fire alarm system that brings people down in stages. If your building has it, ask about the procedure now.

When is sheltering in your apartment safer than the stairs?

When the fire is not in your unit and the hallway or stair has smoke in it. A stairwell you enter on floor 20 is a long commitment. The sequence, from San Jose Fire Department, FDNY and Tennessee:

• Fire in your unit: get out, close the door behind you, pull the alarm, call 911.

• Fire elsewhere: feel the door knob with the back of your hand. "If it feels warm, don't open it." Cool knob and a clear hallway: nearest stair, close doors behind you, walk down, don't run.

• Smoke in the hall or stair: San Jose is explicit that "if both stairwells are filled with smoke, stay in your apartment and wait for the firefighters."

If you're staying, seal the place. Close every door between you and the fire, shut vents and air ducts, and "use wet towels, sheets, or duct tape to seal door gaps." That is current guidance, not folklore: San Jose, FDNY and Tennessee all still publish it. Call 911 with your apartment number. Open a window a few inches at top and bottom unless smoke is coming from below, but don't break it. You can't close broken glass.

Then settle in. Texas tells trapped occupants to expect at least an hour, and Morgan State University is blunter: "Rescuing all the occupants of a high-rise building can take several hours." Don't go to the roof either. Texas says helicopter rescue is unlikely.

One honest gap. You'll see "80 percent of fire deaths are from smoke, not burns" quoted everywhere. We couldn't find a current federal agency publishing that split, so we won't repeat it. NFPA's Fire Loss in the United States During 2024 counts 1.39 million fires and 3,920 civilian deaths.

How do you evacuate a high-rise with someone who can't use the stairs?

You plan it in advance, because the stairs are slow and help has to be arranged. NIST studied a 6-story assisted living facility and measured average descent speeds of 0.11 to 0.29 m/s for residents using canes, help from another person, or a stair chair. At the slow end, 20 floors isn't a trip a fire gives you time to make.

So the plan is the area of refuge: a protected space, often a stair landing, where someone waits for firefighters with two-way communication. The US Access Board's ADA Standards require at least one accessible means of egress per accessible space, and two where more than one is required. Find your refuge landings and the call button.

• Ask whether your building keeps a voluntary register of residents who need help. Many do. Get on it.

• Ask whether an evacuation chair is in the stair enclosure and whether anyone trained on it. An untrained person with a stair chair is a second casualty.

• If someone uses oxygen, say so when you call 911.

Same planning covers an elderly parent, a pregnant resident late in term, or anyone post-surgery. The broader version is in evacuating with limited mobility.

Kids, pets, and the 60 seconds you get

Sequence it. One adult takes the youngest, one takes the next, nobody goes back down the hall. Cat carriers live by the door, not under the bed. Dogs get leashed before the door opens. Grab in 60 seconds: shoes, phone, keys, flashlight, medication, pet.

How does a high-rise evacuation change for an earthquake or hurricane?

The building still protects you, but the trigger changes what "out" means.

Earthquake. You don't evacuate during shaking. San Francisco State University's emergency office says drop, cover and hold on, don't use elevators, and don't leave while shaking is strong. It adds a reason to stay inside after: falling glass from tall buildings travels a long way. Once it stops, check for fire and gas, then take the stairs.

Hurricane. This is where high-rise residents talk themselves into staying. Pinellas County's all-hazard guide says an evacuation order "applies to everyone, including condominiums and other high-rise buildings," and wind is stronger at higher elevations. Afterward, expect no power, no elevators, no water.

The vertical twist. Going up is a real tactic, but for tsunami, not hurricane wind. The National Weather Service calls vertical evacuation refuges short-term protection for 12 to 24 hours, and gives Honolulu's policy as an example: the 4th floor or higher in qualifying steel or reinforced concrete buildings, 10 stories or higher. It adds that vertical evacuation "should not be chosen over safe, solid, nearby high ground."

Power failure, bomb threat, flooding below. A dead elevator is a stair problem for everyone above floor 10, so stock water and medication first. A bomb threat or gas odor usually means total evacuation, the one case where everybody really goes.

How do you practice a high-rise evacuation with your family?

You walk it once, on a Saturday, so the first time isn't the real time. Seattle Fire requires annual high-rise drills but exempts apartment and condominium residents, so nobody will make you do this.

1. Walk both stairwells from your floor to the street. Note where each lets you out.

2. Count landings down, have everyone old enough say the number out loud, and time it. Then double your time for a crowded stair at night.

3. Find the area of refuge and the nearest pull station, and pick an outside meeting place.

Then the indoor half: seal your own door with towels, find the flashlight in the dark. The fundamentals in our home fire escape plan guide apply inside your unit.

Frequently asked questions

Should you evacuate a high-rise building when the fire alarm goes off?

It depends on the building and where the fire is. Seattle Fire says evacuating an entire high-rise is not practical and could be dangerous, and Texas puts the fire floor plus the floors directly above and below out first. FDNY adds the construction split: in a fireproof building, staying in your apartment beats a smoke-filled hallway, while in a non-fireproof building you leave at once. Fire in your own unit, you leave either way.

Can you use the elevator during a high-rise evacuation?

No, not on your own. The Texas Department of Insurance notes an elevator cannot count as one of the required means of egress, and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal says use the stairs and never the elevator. New towers are a narrow exception: San Francisco requires 2 fire service access elevators above 120 feet for firefighters, and puts passenger elevators under Occupant Evacuation Operation, which staff direct.

How long does it take to walk down 20 floors in a high-rise?

No agency publishes a floors-per-minute figure, so we will not invent one. NIST Technical Note 1624 publishes full drill times instead: 411 seconds for a 6-story building, 442 for an 11-story, and 1,031 (about 17 minutes) for an 18-story, with average stair speeds falling from 0.83 m/s to 0.40 m/s as buildings got taller. Time your own stairs; a crowded night stair is slower.

Do wet towels at the door really help in a high-rise fire?

Yes, and it is current guidance, not folklore. San Jose Fire Department tells residents to use wet towels, sheets or duct tape to seal door gaps and to close vents and air ducts, and FDNY and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal publish the same. Sealing buys time while you call 911. Texas says expect to wait at least an hour, Morgan State says several.

What should you do in a high-rise if you use a wheelchair?

Plan for the area of refuge, not the stairs. The US Access Board's ADA Standards require at least one accessible means of egress for every accessible space, and two where more than one is required, so your floor should have a protected place to wait with two-way communication. NIST measured assisted stair descent at 0.11 to 0.29 m/s, which is why waiting beats attempting 20 floors.

The numbers, in one place

You never know, but you can always be ready.

Sources: NIST Technical Note 1624, NIST stair descent study, NFPA high-rise fire data, NFPA Fire Loss in the United States During 2024, Seattle Fire Department, San Jose Fire Department, San Francisco Fire Department, FDNY, Tennessee State Fire Marshal, Texas Department of Insurance, Camas Fire Department, US Access Board ADA Standards, San Francisco State University Office of Emergency Services, Pinellas County All Hazard Guide, National Weather Service vertical evacuation guidance, Morgan State University fire safety.