9/11 Prompted Design of OEO Elevators in Charlotte

The Bank of America Tower at Legacy Union in Charlotte, North Carolina, features elevators that emerged within the 20 years since the 9/11 attacks: re-engineered lifts that help evacuate people in fire emergencies, WCNC reported on September 10. The 33-story building, which opened in 2019, was built with Schindler’s Occupant Evacuation Operation (OEO) elevators. These units feature fireproof hoistways and backup generators that maintain power if there is an outage. The elevators can quickly evacuate occupants while improving firefighting capabilities. Curtis Slezak of Schindler said 9/11 pushed the company to improve elevator design. “It really got us to look at passenger safety and occupant safety,” he said.