The Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies (RaCERS) held a day-long event reflecting on the motion picture The Towering Inferno, released in 1974. The event was held on campus on December 13, 2024 in a hybrid format with presenters appearing from London, Toronto, and Los Angeles.
The program included a historic assessment of the film, its cultural and public impact, and transitioned to consider modern firefighting tactics, structural and fire protection engineering, and a critical assessment the role of the media and elected officials in advancing (or failing to) advance fire safety requirements in existing high-rise buildings.
Video presentations include:
Nat Segaloff The Towering Inferno: Behind the Scenes
Jarrett Murphy Holding Their Feet to the Fire: Policy Change After Fire Disaster
Charles Jennings Towering Inferno: Art Imitates Life Imitates Art
Jerry Tracy High-Rise Firefighting Past, Present, and Future
Jake Pauls Award Presentation Presentation of Pauls Award for Outstanding Advocacy to Peter Apps
Jake Pauls Presentation — The Ups and Downs of Stair Evacuation
Ali Ashrafi Structural and Fire Aspects of Tall Buildings
The program includes links to purchase books by several of the presenters.
