The separating wall is not perfectly vertical. It protrudes a bit beyond the railing before angling back deeper into it. It is like a triangle. That said, I agree it is not actually “simple” to just casually throw a leg over given the situation (with a fire raging in your room), but it is not impossible and I do believe it is a physically reasonable option if you were cool-headed enough to identify it and then attempt it. I grant these girls and most people would be in a state of panic and probably wouldn’t have thought of it, but I’m not blaming them for it. I’m just hypothesizing with the benefit of hindsight for the sake of discussion.

No one, and I repeat no one could possibly face all elements and have the ability to calmly decide which is the best method to get away from those flames.

I disagree with this absolute statement. I believe there are plenty (not all, not most) of people who DO have the ability to remain calm in situations that most people would be panicking in. Again, I’m not blaming the girls, just saying I wish the outcome didn’t involve them hanging off the railing and jumping to their deaths.

Here’s the deal:

If you look closely at the picture, the separation wall clearly extends past that of the railing. The “just throw the leg over” theory isn’t that simple. If you can’t see what it is that you’re trying to grab hold of, you can’t even begin to think about how to execute this manuever.

Also, these poor girls had no time to think clearly because fire moves at an incredibly high rate of speed. Not to mention the fact that a blaze of that size is HOT, HOT HOT! It also creates incredible air circulation.

No one, and I repeat no one could possibly face all elements and have the ability to calmly decide which is the best method to get away from those flames.

For all we know, they may just have thought the neighboring dorm was on fire as well. All they wanted to do was get away from the heat and find cooler air.

Imagine being 6 stories high, hanging on the railing, trying to lean back, peer around the wall and move over to the next dorm while the skin is melting off your hands.

Let’s see how calm and calculated your moves will be then.

Dude, this was a dorm fire that was already sprouting out the window. This isn’t backdraft, where kicking down the door to a sealed smoldering oxygen-starved room would’ve resulted in a fresh breath of O2 for the fire to explode outward. Kicking down the door would’ve been entirely reasonable if you had gone to get water to put out the fire but came back realizing the door was locked and four of your roommates were still in the room…with the fire.

and the idiot who called for the neighbors to kick down the door, man are they idiotic.

If you kick down the door, the flame would shoot out and kill that man also.