Question
•
Life & Earth Sciences
To those of us in the earthquake zone...
>
> Where To Be During An Earthquake
>
> Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway?
> Well, Doug Copp has an expert opinion that is a complete reversal of
> what we were all taught.
>
> Please read this and pass this valuable information along to everyone
> you know who lives in or visits earthquake country; it could save their
> lives someday!
>
> EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
>
> 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 for two years. I have worked at
> every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous
> disasters.
>
> The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
> during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its 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. I wondered why the
> children were not in the aisles. At the time, I didn't 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 the triangle is
> and the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger
> the void, the greater the probability that the person who is 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.
>
> TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
>
> 1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when buildings collapse
> are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars,
> are crushed.
>
> 2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally 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 to a large
> bulky object
> (like a sofa or desk) 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. 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 will cause fewer 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. They can tell occupants to
> lie down on the floor next to the bottom of the bed during an
> earthquake.
>
> 5) If an earthquake happens 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) Most everyone 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 -
> 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. They may collapse later when overloaded by 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. This 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. 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 are found surrounding stacks of paper.
>
> 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 used 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 results
> showed showed there would have been zero percent survival for those
> doing duck and cover. There likely would 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 , in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV
> program Real TV.
>
> Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is
> experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
>
> I hope you never have to use this information. But if you do need it,
> may it save your life.
>
> Where To Be During An Earthquake
>
> Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway?
> Well, Doug Copp has an expert opinion that is a complete reversal of
> what we were all taught.
>
> Please read this and pass this valuable information along to everyone
> you know who lives in or visits earthquake country; it could save their
> lives someday!
>
> EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
>
> 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 for two years. I have worked at
> every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous
> disasters.
>
> The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
> during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its 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. I wondered why the
> children were not in the aisles. At the time, I didn't 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 the triangle is
> and the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger
> the void, the greater the probability that the person who is 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.
>
> TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
>
> 1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when buildings collapse
> are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars,
> are crushed.
>
> 2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally 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 to a large
> bulky object
> (like a sofa or desk) 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. 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 will cause fewer 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. They can tell occupants to
> lie down on the floor next to the bottom of the bed during an
> earthquake.
>
> 5) If an earthquake happens 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) Most everyone 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 -
> 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. They may collapse later when overloaded by 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. This 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. 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 are found surrounding stacks of paper.
>
> 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 used 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 results
> showed showed there would have been zero percent survival for those
> doing duck and cover. There likely would 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 , in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV
> program Real TV.
>
> Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is
> experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
>
> I hope you never have to use this information. But if you do need it,
> may it save your life.
Loading...
Answered Don't believe it!
says
Origins: We can't say that every single point mentioned in the above article about earthquake safety by controversial "rescue expert" Doug Copp is wrong or bad advice, but there are some pretty substantial reasons why readers might want to take the article (particularly its advice that everyone who uses the "duck and cover" technique in an earthquake ends up crushed to death) with some very large grains of salt:
• Disaster preparedness experts with the American Red Cross dispute that findings based on earthquake experiences in other countries (e.g., Turkey) are applicable to the U.S., where building codes are substantially different.
• The scientific validity of the conclusions expressed in the article has been questioned by others.
• Doug Copp's claim that he performed rescue work at the World Trade Center (for which he was paid $650,000 in compensation for injuries he supposedly sustained there) has been challenged in a series of articles published in the Albuquerque Journal which describe him as a self-serving opportunist rather than a true rescue expert:
Self-proclaimed rescue guru Doug Copp's mission to ground zero was considered so important that he had clearance to be flown to New York even though all civilian air traffic in the United States had been grounded. Once there, he says he assumed a pivotal role and sustained devastating injuries while wading through the "toxic soup" in search of survivors and victims, ...
says
Origins: We can't say that every single point mentioned in the above article about earthquake safety by controversial "rescue expert" Doug Copp is wrong or bad advice, but there are some pretty substantial reasons why readers might want to take the article (particularly its advice that everyone who uses the "duck and cover" technique in an earthquake ends up crushed to death) with some very large grains of salt:
• Disaster preparedness experts with the American Red Cross dispute that findings based on earthquake experiences in other countries (e.g., Turkey) are applicable to the U.S., where building codes are substantially different.
• The scientific validity of the conclusions expressed in the article has been questioned by others.
• Doug Copp's claim that he performed rescue work at the World Trade Center (for which he was paid $650,000 in compensation for injuries he supposedly sustained there) has been challenged in a series of articles published in the Albuquerque Journal which describe him as a self-serving opportunist rather than a true rescue expert:
Self-proclaimed rescue guru Doug Copp's mission to ground zero was considered so important that he had clearance to be flown to New York even though all civilian air traffic in the United States had been grounded. Once there, he says he assumed a pivotal role and sustained devastating injuries while wading through the "toxic soup" in search of survivors and victims, and was awarded nearly $650,000 for his injuries. But there is little evidence Copp performed real rescue work, and it is doubtful that he deserves compensation.
Doug Copp was awarded $649,000, tax free, from the fund set up to compensate victims of 9/11. He says it's not enough. But it's doubtful he deserves anything. A Journal investigation found little evidence that Copp did real rescue work in New York. His forays into the rubble were to shoot video, some of which he tried to sell. His claim of seeking medical care within the time frame appears false. All typical of Copp's years as a self-proclaimed rescue guru.
• Other articles have relayed complaints from numerous people who have dealt with Mr. Copp.
• Mr. Copp is under investigation by a U.S. Department of Justice fraud unit.
We'd recommend sticking with safety information prepared by established earthquake safety experts, such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Last updated: 15 September 2004