Comments on: The Fire That Won’t Go Out http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/1303 The Kingdom from another angle. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:13:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jim Gourley http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/1303/comment-page-1#comment-1258 Jim Gourley Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:55:54 +0000 http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/?p=1303#comment-1258 There's a lot of talk about "tranference" Dwain, titanium heating up and the insulation burning beneath. There is still much to come out on this, though whether it will or not is another question. But whatever caused the fire - and I am very disappointed that this building burned, since I've grown quite attached to it as the step-child of the more popular leaning towers - it is clear that CCTV is responsible for burning down their own building. (It is hard to really explain just how loathful those folks are.) In the world of metaphors, it doesn't get any better. This is Ahab sinking the Pequod without the least sighting of Moby, a kind of "Screw it! Pull the plug!" just for the hell of it. There’s a lot of talk about “tranference” Dwain, titanium heating up and the insulation burning beneath. There is still much to come out on this, though whether it will or not is another question. But whatever caused the fire – and I am very disappointed that this building burned, since I’ve grown quite attached to it as the step-child of the more popular leaning towers – it is clear that CCTV is responsible for burning down their own building. (It is hard to really explain just how loathful those folks are.) In the world of metaphors, it doesn’t get any better. This is Ahab sinking the Pequod without the least sighting of Moby, a kind of “Screw it! Pull the plug!” just for the hell of it.

]]> By: dwain http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/1303/comment-page-1#comment-1257 dwain Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:54:59 +0000 http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/?p=1303#comment-1257 Jim, i haven't been following this story as closely as you have, and i am no expert on fires. But there is no way in hell that plain fireworks "burned" through a sheet of titanium. When i worked at Nordam aircraft in the 70's we used heat guns to delaminate titanium covered airframe parts(aluminum too), you had to heat the crap out of titanium to even get it hot enough to release from the inner seals, and you couldn't burn it to save your ass("The relatively high melting point (over 1,649 °C or 3,000 °F) makes it useful as a refractory metal."). Unless someone was dumping pure oxygen or pouring chlorine down the sides of the building...or maybe useing phosphorus fireworks...i can't see how it is possible that mere fireworks burned through that sheeting. Once you do get it lit, it is hell to put out though and it stinks to high heaven when burning. I can of course be way off base here but no way in hell that explanation washes for me, somethin smells funny and it ain't titanium burning. dwain Jim, i haven’t been following this story as closely as you have, and i am no expert on fires. But there is no way in hell that plain fireworks “burned” through a sheet of titanium. When i worked at Nordam aircraft in the 70′s we used heat guns to delaminate titanium covered airframe parts(aluminum too), you had to heat the crap out of titanium to even get it hot enough to release from the inner seals, and you couldn’t burn it to save your ass(“The relatively high melting point (over 1,649 °C or 3,000 °F) makes it useful as a refractory metal.”). Unless someone was dumping pure oxygen or pouring chlorine down the sides of the building…or maybe useing phosphorus fireworks…i can’t see how it is possible that mere fireworks burned through that sheeting. Once you do get it lit, it is hell to put out though and it stinks to high heaven when burning. I can of course be way off base here but no way in hell that explanation washes for me, somethin smells funny and it ain’t titanium burning.

dwain

]]>