The debate concerning the collapse of the twin towers (The World Trade Center) in the United States of America, has raged on from the advent of the attacks by terrorists. There has been a lot of speculation concerning the collapse, and several experts have carried out, and are continuing with investigations on the actual cause of the collapse of the towers.
This is because they need to understand what happened in a bid to counter any future attacks on gargantuan buildings. Most reports have so far indicated that the main cause of the collapse of the buildings, were the fires that erupted following the explosion, upon impact of the airplanes.
This seems to be the consensus among most of the experts as they strive to offer a logical explanation as to why the buildings collapsed. The reports indicated that it took quite some time for the buildings to crumble (Griffin 113). According to expert opinion, the jet fuel that was on board the aircrafts fueled the fires that started upon the collision. It is common knowledge that jet fuel burns at extreme temperatures.
It is highly flammable and this, together with office furniture and other bits and pieces like carpets and stationery in the building, lit up flames that were estimated to reach temperatures of 2000° Fahrenheit. These temperatures were so high that they able to soften the metal frames that had been used to set up the columns that held the building together.
The trusses were also a main part of the core of the building, in that they held the columns together. Upon impact, the flames erupted weakening the entire structure although the building actually withstood the initial impact. Another aspect that was also brought forth was the fact that the steel that had been used had been fireproofed with fire resistant foam of the highest quality.
Upon impact, the debris and shock loosened and blew away the protective fireproof foam from the steel columns. This left the steel exposed to the flames, which weakened them to the point where they could no longer sustain the weight of the building. The subsequent result was the collapse of the building after the trusses together with the columns gave in to the weight due to the weakening of the steel columns.
The fact that the buildings stood for almost one hour in an upright position enabling many people make a clean get away ought to be considered when making observations regarding the fall of the twin towers. This is because there have been some arguments from various quarters that have stated that the quality of the workmanship was wanting and quite questionable. There has been speculation that there was plenty of cutting corners in a bid to make great savings at the expense of people’s lives.
These arguments hold no water since the design of the building was hardly compromised, and it was only an act such as the one that took place, which could have caused such damage. Conversely, there are also indications that such an impact had been put into consideration at the time of construction. However, it is prudent to note that the biggest plane at the time the building was being constructed was the Boeing 707, while the ones used to crash into the buildings were the much larger Boeing 767 models.
Works Cited
Griffin, David. Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report about 9/11 Is Unscientific and False, Northampton, Massachusetts: Interlink Books, 2009. Print.