FarSight3,
I just sent the following to my E-mail list. I don't have time to write this
story, but the true believers in the party line need to see this.
"The worst fire in Madrid's history ravages 32-storey skyscraper",
http://www.iht.com/getina/files/225478.html
Do burning high rise buildings come crashing to the ground like the World Trade
Center Towers? Well, at times we are told that they do and it's so natural that
it should be expected. However, in the case of Madrid's history making high
rise fire on Saturday February 12th, one headline reads "Fears of collapse as
fire ravages huge Madrid office block".
http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=050213200316.s8uyx7hz.xml
The building did not collapse in spite of the intense heat
"...city officials said it appeared the reinforced concrete core of the
building would hold, despite having withstood temperatures in excess of 1,000
degrees centigrade. "Despite all the intense heat, the structure has survived,"
Javier Ayuso, a spokesman for Madrid's emergencies services, said ".
Genaro Alas, the architect who designed the building explained, "the key to the
strength of this building is it's reinforced concrete core, which ties the
structure together".
"...the first flames were sighted on the 21st and 22nd floors of the
glass-fronted building. Fire fighters arrived at the scene within minutes,
although a crew that went inside had to withdraw as the blaze spread, engulfing
higher floors. Seven fire fighters were treated for smoke inhalation at field
hospitals set up nearby, although none suffered serious injuries. Within an
hour the fire had engulfed most of the floors above the 22nd, turning the
skyscraper into what several people described as a "giant torch" visible from
kilometers away. "It was like September 11 all over again," one resident of the
area declared."
Like "September 11" with one not so minor exception. The World Trade Towers,
you will recall, collapsed within minutes of the start of the fire because the
burning jet fuel melted the steel beams which were also encased in concrete.
"The blaze... burnt throughout much of yesterday as flames spread to lower
floors. Hundreds of fire fighters, seven of whom suffered minor injuries,
worked throughout the night and day to control the fire as police maintained a
500-meter security cordon amid fears that the building would collapse. The
skyscraper, Madrid's eighth highest at 106 meters..."
So, this is a modern 32 story building (same vintage as the twin towers), the
fire began on the 21st floor, burned for hour's and now it must be "demolished?
That's right because the structure was weakened, but it "has survived".
Built between 1973 and 1979 by the Alas y Casariego studio, the Windsor
Building was one of Madrid's first skyscrapers and an emblem of the Spanish
economic and political transition. Around 2,000 people worked there. Alas said
the fire and the demolition of the skyscraper - a delicate process given the
proximity of nearby buildings - would be a "painful" experience."
Do you suppose they could be so foolish as to try using jet fuel to bring this
building down? I think they will use controlled explosive charges to collapse
the building in at least as orderly a manner as what we saw in Manhattan on
September 11, 2001.
Bobby Garner
http://www.congregator.net/
