World Trade Center Fire
New York, NY
February 13, 1975
On February 13, 1975, in New York City, a fire occurred in the World Trade Center North Tower, which spread over nearly half of the eleventh floor. The fire also spread to other floors through openings in the floor slabs which were used to carry phone wires. The fires on other floors were extinguished almost immediately, and the main fire was put out in a few hours. Fireproofing protected the steel from melting and there was no structural damage to the tower. This event led to the installation of a sprinkler system in both towers. Firefighters claim that had the sprinklers been installed when the tower was built, the fire probably would not have spread as much as it did. Other than the damage caused by the fire, a few floors below suffered water damage from the extinguishment activities above. |
