The tragic fire overnight in NYC reminded me of the big one we had here in the summer, at Grenfell Tower in London. Seventy one people died in that inferno, and there's now a public inquiry to find out who was to blame for the flammable external cladding (!) and the many, many complaints by residents that were ignored by both the managing agents and the local authority.
What struck me at the time, though, is that the building burned for almost three days before they got it fully under control. And yet, it still stands today.
Which in turn reminds me of the Windsor Tower fire in Madrid, back in 2005. No one was hurt in that one, as they had just finished building it, but that was also a steel framed structure, and it also burned for several days and is, I believe, repaired and in full use today.
Which raises the question - yet again - of how three buildings collapsed into their own footprint on 9/11. The North Tower only had fires on a few floors which burned for only 1 hour 42 minutes; the South Tower only had fires on a few floors which burned for only 56 minutes. Building 7 collapsed at 5.20 that day, having not been hit by anything, and having only a few fires on a few floors.
Say what you like about 9/11, but we have to agree, surely, that it is extraordinarily unlucky (if not unlikely) that the only three steel framed skyscrapers in history to collapse as a result of fire (according to the final NIST report) collapsed completely, on the same site, on the same day.
Picture Sources
https://goodnessandharmony.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/grenfell-tower/
http://madridkid.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/no-one-to-blame-for-windsor-building.html