Abstract: Information was collected and analyzed on the "collapse of a high-rise apartment in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA" as a representative of static collapse accidents. The existing buildings in China have entered the "middle-aged" period. It is suggested that the policy framework, technology innovation, equipment R&D and configuration should systematically improve the whole-life safety of the buildings in service, in order to prevent and solve the risk of building collapse and improve the ability to deal with collapse accidents.

Key words: building collapse accidents; emergency management; emergency rescue; firefighting strategy