Why do firefighters need to know about truss construction? Because it’s particularly dangerous in fires. One utterly terrifying presentation notes that trusses can fail “quickly when heated—in as little as 1-2 minutes.” Trusses also “fail without warning,” and “don’t get ‘spongy’ before failing,” so “ ‘sounding’ a roof is of no help” to firefighters. Most worrying of all, when firefighters arrive at a fire, they have no way of knowing how long a truss has already been subjected to heat.Now imagine a building with a massive truss design situated over a hidden power plant (ten 35-foot towers) and nearly 150,000 gallons of fuel and oil, in tanks connected by fuel lines snaking throughout the building. All of that was built in defiance of NYC law. Technically, the building didn't have to follow those laws, since it was under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority -- but that technicality would not have prevented class action lawsuits galore, if the truth were more widely known.
So the only real mystery is why the building stayed up as long as it did. I doubt that an official report will ever point to the "transfer truss" design, which -- as Slate has just now verified -- is both inherently unstable and in widespread usage throughout the country. For the same reason, you'll also never see an official report verifying Paul Brodeur's assertions that proximity to power lines can increase the likelihood of cancer in children.
Remember: No comments allowed. I won't even read your words -- not even if you have something positive to say. In the past, the fucking 9/11 "controlled demolition" nuts have proved so vile and unpleasant that I have resolved never to allow them a voice here again. They're like the clambering hive-minded zombies in World War Z -- you can't reason with 'em.
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