Firefighters and Skyscrapers

Paper Summary:

This paper attempts to examine why firefighters have voiced concerns regarding the ever-increasing size of skyscrapers. In particular, it looks at how, when the World Trade Centre Twin Towers, which were at the time two of the world's tallest buildings, were completely destroyed by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the event should have raised enough doubt and questions about the future of high-rise safety to put an end to the construction of skyscrapers; yet, after September 11th, the world's demand for newer and taller structures continued to dramatically increase.

Outline
Table of Content
Introduction
Twin Towers of New York
Building Construction Trends
Truss Construction
Firefighters Structural Analysis
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix A
Appendix B

From the Paper:

"The steel trusses that supported the flooring either melted or simply buckled which in turn released each upper floor down on the next below it and eventually falling completely to the ground. In other words, as the trusses failed, the concrete-slab floors literally plunged downward. When the two jets struck the buildings, the fact that they hit near the towers' tops, the weight of the floors became a force the buildings could not withstand. Although the towers went up easily utilizing these techniques, they were also the eventual cause of the buildings quick demise. The Twin Towers radically different structural design created a situation where the load-bearing walls simply could not support the weight of the floors."

More papers on Firefighters and Skyscrapers:

• Analytical Essay # 116820 : "Firefighters and "American Public Policy"
• Term Paper # 52075 : "Firefighting and Carbon Monoxide"
• Essay # 46112 : "Firefighting and Carbon Monoxide"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: