Steel-frame building fires

Overview

This page is for information about fires in steel-frame high-rise buildings.

No such building has ever been known to collapse due solely to fire.

Notes

According to architect Richard Gage, fireproofing is only intended to withstand fire for 2 hours, so any fire lasting longer than that has probably burned through to the structural steel and begun heating it.

Related Pages

• Steel-frame building collapses

Incidents

need more specifics

• Caracas, Venezuela, 56 floors: 26 floors burned for 17 hours
• Los Angeles, First Interstate Bank: 5 stories burned for 3.5 hours
• Philadelphia, 91 Meridian Plaza, 38 floors: 8 floors burned for 18 hours
• New York Plaza, 50 stories: burned for 6 hours

All of these buildings are still in use.