Don't linger in Statue of Liberty's crown, says safety report

The crown, closed after the 9/11 terror attacks, will reopen to the public for two years, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last week.

It then will close for safety modifications for up to two years.

The new fire safety and emergency evacuation study, commissioned by the National Parks Service and executed by Baltimore-based Hughes Associates Inc., says about 240 people a day could safely make the trip.

(...) Researchers sought to answer two questions: Can Liberty's crown be brought into line with fire codes? If it can't, what can be done to make it as safe as possible for visitors?

Unsurprisingly, the study - which was heavily redacted - found Lady Liberty's cramped crown doesn't meet fire codes.

That would require two separate sets of exit stairs from the crown, the report says, and there's no room for both.

An alternative, building an external stairway, "was not possible without adversely impacting the historic fabric of the monument."