Active Fire Protection Systems. Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster.
Active Fire Protection Systems. Federal Building and
Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center
Disaster.
(3971 K)
Evans, D. D.; Peacock, R. D.; Kuligowski, E. D.; Dols,
W. S.; Grosshandler, W. L.
NIST NCSTAR 1-4; 138 p. September 2005.
Keywords:
World Trade Center; high rise buildings; building
collapse; disasters; fire safety; fire investigations;
terrorists; terrorism; fire protection; fire alarm
systems; fire protection engineering; smoke detection;
smoke management; sprinklers; communication networks;
hydraulic calculations; smoke purge; voice
communication; fire hoses
Abstract:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology
investigation of active fire protection systems in World
Trade Center (WTC) 1, 2, and 7 included the design,
installation, capabilities, and performance on September
11,2001, of the automatic fire sprinkler, standpipe,
standpipe preconnected hoses, fire alarm, and smoke
management systems. The purpose and normally expected
performance of each active fire protection system in the
buildings are described, as well as details about the
systems installed in WTC 1, 2, and 7. Using fire
protection engineering methods, the capabilities of the
installed systems to respond to various fire threats
from normal office fires up to and including the
extraordinary challenge of the fires ignited by the
aircraft impacts on September 11, 2001, were assessed.
Information from the Fire Department of the City of New
York records was used to document the history of
significant fire events in WTC 1, 2, and 7. Findings of
the investigation are presented with regard to the fire
suppression, fire alarm, and smoke management systems
installed on the day the buildings collapsed.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899