NIST WTC 7 Investigation Finds Building Fires Caused Collapse

[Amianthus]

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc_videos/wtc_videos.html

Some cool videos there.

[sirs]

D'OH

[BT]

test

[Michael Tee]

The theory that fires caused the collapse was the conclusion of 102 Minutes, a book by New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn that came out a few years ago.

There was some very interesting material on how the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, the owner of the Towers, was able to avoid very stringent NYC building regulations on fireproofing the support columns and beams because supposedly the buildings fell outside the jurisdiction of the NYC building authorities.  Apparently support columns were supposed to be encased in concrete of a certain specified thickness but instead had insulation simply sprayed on.  It was already known that the spray-on insulation was flaking off the columns, but the chosen solution was to reapply the insulation one floor at a time, which somebody had estimated would take about 34 years to finish insulating the structural steel.

I'm sure all this negligence and misfeasance is already the subject matter of humungous and interminable litiigation that is making plenty of lawyers and consulting engineers extremely happy.

[Brassmask]

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc_videos/wtc_videos.html

Some cool videos there.

Again, something happened on 9.11 that has never happened before in the history of steel construction.  Pretty amazing day of coincidences, huh?

[Amianthus]

Again, something happened on 9.11 that has never happened before in the history of steel construction.

It's happened, just never with a building that tall.

A number of examples have been posted here to debunk that claim in the past.

[Plane]

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc_videos/wtc_videos.html

Some cool videos there.

Again, something happened on 9.11 that has never happened before in the history of steel construction.  Pretty amazing day of coincidences, huh?

How many simular oppurtunitys for simular failure have there ever been?

[Michael Tee]

<<How many simular oppurtunitys for simular failure have there ever been?>>

You'll never know till the next big fire.  Landlords don't exactly advertise the negative safety features of their high-rise commercial properties.

[Amianthus]

Landlords don't exactly advertise the negative safety features of their high-rise commercial properties.

Quite a few of those high-rise commercial properties are owned by the city and state (the WTC complex being one of them).

Doesn't the government have the best interests of the citizens living and working there as number one priority?

[Michael Tee]

The WTC was in fact owned by the Port Authority, which is neither city nor state.  It's kinda hard to figure out WHO they're accountable to.  (Well, it isn't really, I just don't have the time to look it up.)  The buildings in NYC which are not owned by the Port Authority, even if owned by state or municipal government (and not too many of the big ones are) are subject to some very stringent NYC building codes and much less likely to be as non-compliant as the WTC was.

[Amianthus]

The WTC was in fact owned by the Port Authority, which is neither city nor state.&nbsp; It's kinda hard to figure out WHO they're accountable to.&nbsp; (Well, it isn't really, I just don't have the time to look it up.)&nbsp; The buildings in NYC which are not owned by the Port Authority, even if owned by state or municipal government (and not too many of the big ones are) are subject to some very stringent NYC building codes and much less likely to be as non-compliant as the WTC was.

The "Port Authority of New York and New Jersey" (from their website, took like 5 seconds to pull it up):

The Port Authority is a financially self-supporting public agency that receives no tax revenues from any state or local jurisdiction and has no power to tax. It relies almost entirely on revenues generated by facility users, tolls, fees, and rents. The Governor of each state appoints six members to the Board of Commissioners, subject to state senate approval. Board Members serve as public officials without pay for overlapping six-year terms. The Governors retain the right to veto the actions of Commissioners from his or her own state. Board meetings are public.

The Board of Commissioners appoints an Executive Director to carry out the agency's policies and manage the day-to-day operations.

http://www.panynj.gov/AboutthePortAuthority/Governance/

The board members of the Port Authority are appointed by the governors of NY and NJ.

[Amianthus]

are subject to some very stringent NYC building codes and much less likely to be as non-compliant as the WTC was.

From my originally linked web site:

The team found that the design of WTC 7 in the 1980s was generally consistent with the New York City building code in effect at that time.

I don't believe that either WTC 1 or 2 was deficient in adherence to building codes, either.

[Brassmask]

A fire, NO FIRE, can cause a building to suddenly collapse neatly into its footprint.  Never has, never will.

The proof that the building was destroyed on purpose is evident in that they found molten metal under the building.  No NORMAL FIRE CAN EVER MELT IRON.

[Xavier_Onassis]

No NORMAL FIRE CAN EVER MELT IRON.

===================================
So was the WTC fire normal? The main combustants seem to have been two airplanes full of jet fuel and a huge amount of paper in the form of documents and used to sandwich gypsum in drywall, and no doubt other items of wood and such.

Thousands of gallons of jet fuel is not a typical cause of most building fires. Coke will melt steel, and it is similar to jetfuel in that it is a hydrocarbon.

[Amianthus]

No NORMAL FIRE CAN EVER MELT IRON.

One then wonders how our ancestors, lo those 2,000 years ago, smelted iron.