I would say they had a choice between jumping (certain death) waiting around to burn (certain death) or in trying the best they could to get out somehow (very likely death, very small possibility of survival).
I would rather latch on to that slim hope of a miraculous escape and try for it and wind up burning to death anyway, than to jump or wait and find out on judgment day that I could have gotten out if I tried. That's MY choice and there is no reason for you be upset about my choosing something other than you.
I am with you...I would have fought tooth and nail, clawing and scratching to get out. But the fact that a lot of people did jump only shows how hopeless their situation was.
Totally and utterly hopeless.
What you fail to understand is that these people, prior to jumping, were watching others try to survive by going through the fires and they burned alive. It wasn't a matter of choosing the safest way out, the fact was there was NO way out. The fire engulfed them all and everyone who made a run for safety burned alive. Those who jumped probably felt their skin bubbling while they watched in horror as their coworkers burnt to death. In the meantime the fire was drawing closer. Another thing to consider is that the jumping was not a conscious choice but an instinctive one.