WTC deaths avoidable
Unfortunately many people died on 9/11 due to negligence/arrogance on the part of NYC officials.
Before anyone accusses me of 'blasphemy' consider this.
In 1993 a group of people constructed a very powerful car bomb (with the full knowledge of federal law enforcement officials who actually video taped some of their meetings through an inside informant) and left it in one of the parking garages under the WTC. After exploding - thousands of people in the towers either escaped on their own or were evacuated by the frontline heros of the FDNY and NYPD - not their brass.
Those who struggled down the 'firestairs' faced blindness and impaired lung function due to the choking black smoke, lack of emergency lighting and no emergency air ventilation. According to TV news reports the last person didn't make it out until 7 hours later.
Their escape was also hampered by the narrowness of these stairs - totally inadequate for 2-way foot traffic but 'approved' by NYC officials.
Immediately after viewing this event I wrote to (then) Mayor David Dinkins offering an engineering plan which would prevent a repeat of these conditions - should there ever be a need to evacuate the towers in future. Rather than address my letter - it was passed on to the 'Chief of Operations' of the FDNY. For his family's sake I won't reveal his name. Besides, he was reportedly killed in the collapse of one of the towers.
This engineering plan included low-wattage battery powered (windpower recharged) LED lighting and ventilation fans in each stairwell to both remove smoke and provide outside air (to escapees inside the stairwells).
Rather than increase the width of the stairs themselves - which would necessitate reconstruction of the entire stairwells and surrounding floorspace - my plan called for installation of 2 dedicated fire hardened shafts (at opposite corners of each tower for redundancy) in-which fabric chutes would be installed. These 'fire chutes', made of Kevlar (strong as steel) and Nomex (fire resistant) were already installed in many high-rise buildings around the world and are in-fact mandatory under the fire codes of some nations.
A site demonstrating their function can be viewed at this
URL.
One might believe fire fighters would welcome such a system, proven to save lives, as (through building occupants' self-evacuation) it would free them to concentrate on fighting fires. (as in 'fire fighters'?)
Unfortunately the FDNY Chief of Operations felt differently, judging by his written reply, in-which he extolled the virtues of their radio 'command and control' system (the same one which condemned many fire fighters to their deaths on 9/11 through a lack of communications?) and a device known as a 'Lorenzo's Ladder'. I spoke to a few FDNYers who live locally and they all claimed no one has ever used this 'ladder' in any fire and no one ever would.
Perhaps most telling of official negligence was the line in the chief's letter where he essentially stated "Don't call us - we'll call you". Of course his words were more diplomatic but I got the message.
George W Bush and 'Rummy' sent our loved ones to Afganistan and Iraq under false pretenses - that's been confirmed. Now we've also learned they CHOSE to send them into harm's way without the proper tools to do their jobs OR the necessary protection needed to safeguard them until their return.
Kind of reminds me of the 'advisors' sent to 'Nam with M-15 rifles and boots devoid of steel shanks. The former jammed after a few shots and the latter where easily punctured by posioned 'punji sticks'.
Helio crews resorted to placing steel plates under their rears in their Hueys and APC crews rode on-top (with sandbags), rather than inside their 'armor' because the AK-47 slugs passed right through.
Infantry patrols, which had previously followed in the footsteps of villagers on paths bordering the bush (into which they could take cover when attacked), were ordered by armchair generals (back in 'The World') to walk abreast through rice paddys - leaving them exposed with no cover at-all AND more subject to mines.
Promotions (and pay raises) were determined, in large part, by 'body counts. Civilian, ARVN or Cong: After awhile it didn't seem to matter WHICH bodies were counted so long as the numbers were high. Is it any surprise, then, some US troops in Iraq are being tried for murder?
The biggest difference is communications. Back in 'Nam we had the TV people reporting from Highway 1 but their stories had to pass through military censors (i.e.: 'Good morning Vietnam!'). Today anyone with a camcorder can 'record' whatever they choose, download it to a lap-top and beam it to the world via a satellite phone uplink to be viewed on 'YouTube' from anywhere on the face of the planet.
Never forget - it's always the old men who start the wars leaving the young ones to fight and die in them. The same applies to municiple agencies.