(yes, though i thought the newspaper stated
that it was related to thickness of the
gypsum used in the fireproofing of stairs.)
right, 3 (or however many) layers of gypsum board was not enough to prevent the plane (or an explosion) from piercing the stairwell. why the possibility of an explosion taking place outside the stairwell was not considered in the design, i don't know.
well, yes and no, i thought the bulletpoint (and previous
things on firewalls with gypsum) also relates to the idea
of burn 'time', that is, it is not going to stop any kind
of explosion, it is how long it keeps fire on the other
side of a wall. and maybe these were punctured, though it
seemed to imply that the stairwells ability to keep any
fire out of the wells was below building code standards.
jet fuel or no jet fuel, it would seem that there would
still be a problem getting people down and out of the
building by the way it was designed, and the ability of
the gypsum that was used, to keep the fire on the other
side of them, in terms of blocking fire from burning on
through. now maybe this is not the case, John was there
and heard the thing, though i cannot imagine that with
a blazing inferno and airplane fuel for such a blazing
hot fire (beyond normal fires i would imagine) that it
may not be a deciding factor, gypsum, though if you are
on the top floors its inability to delay fire/smoke and
heat or whatever, spreading of the disaster, did kill
everyone on those floors, not just the plane crash.
that seems to be a difference, the building collapsed,
not just a plane crash and massive upper-story fire.
the stairwells and their design were pinned as cause
of the death, people not being able to get out; trapped.
in my previous life, i designed residential bomb shelters with 40 cm (16") thick walls of solid reinforced concrete and doors of 6" solid plate steel.
interesting. you may be able to get back into the
Homeland Security business, just add net access
and find some associates of Vice Dick Cheney...