Please check Urban Legends. There is a listing for this.
However, his is not the only voice or article that pushes the logical observations of WHERE people in collapsed buildings survived. We have had few experiences in the United States with collapsed buildings in the past 50 years because we have good building standards.
Copp may be "self-serving" but his advice has been accepted by insurance companies and other agencies several of which published his list.
For those interested, and for more information, check out Snopes.com's report on Copp.