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Low water pressure... the water mains were severed, fine. Fireboats McKean, Fire Fighter and Harvey were pumping a combined 60,000 gallons of water per minute.
FDNY couldn't go in the building because the structural integrity was "knocked in?" OEM inspectors went in. Why couldn't the fire department?
(EDIT to fix broken video link after my [old] channel was suspended at YouTube.)
images in sequence, 1497, 1498, 1502, 1503 from NIST FOIA release 13, Terry Schmidt
The story of Marine 1, FDNY fireboat McKean, speaks some to the water issues.
Quote:
Approaching the sea wall again there was a group of Firefighters waving the McKean in at the foot of Albany Street.
Pilot Campanelli brought the boat in there and tied up. The firefighters said there was no water in the hydrants and they needed water immediately.
Firefighters, Engineers, wipers, and civilians started stretching supply line from the McKean toward the WTC site. Off duty members of Marine 1 and other units were arriving to help at this time. Some members asked for and received masks, bunker gear, helmets, flashlights, etc., much of which was not recovered.
Visibility was still very poor due to the amount of dust in the air. 3 ½ inch supply lines had to be manhandled all the way to West Street in the choking irritating atmosphere. It was late morning now and Marine 1 off duty members, fortunately, were arriving in ones and twos. A steady stream of civilians were still arriving and were assisted on board and then transferred to police and Coast Guard launches pulling up on our port side where they were evacuated to points unknown. Due to the length of supply lines, it became obvious that we would be out of 3 ½ inch hose soon. The fireboat Kane and tender Smoke after responding into North Cove and evacuating civilians responded back to the quarters of Marine 1 at Bloomfield Street and retrieved spare fittings and numerous lengths of old hose, which fortunately had not yet been transferred to technical services.
This old hose, some of it from the 1960's did create somewhat of a problem, though it was a godsend. The Fire Department had switched all couplings on 3 ½ inch hose to 3 inch. Much of the old hose still had the outdated 3 ½ inch couplings. Fortunately, the engineers and wipers found enough adapters and resolved the problem. Subsequently, pallets of new 3 ½ inch hose was delivered to the Albany Street site.
By early afternoon, all members of Marine 1 were present, alternately searching the collapse for victims, manning the previously decommissioned fireboat Harvey, stretching lines and manning the tender Smoke.
Communications or lack thereof, was an ongoing problem. Engine company chauffeurs manning the pumps at on scene engine companies were from other companies on and off duty and pressed into service, didn’t know where the assigned Engine Company Chauffeurs were, did not know where their water supply was coming from nor where the lines they were supplying were going to. To further exacerbate the problem, they were not equipped with hand-talkies.
The first supply line was to a manifold opposite 90 West Street. The second and third lines were supplying E-219 at the intersection of Albany and West Street, adjacent to 90 West Street. At one point 90 West was thought to be in danger of collapse due to numerous interior fires. The area was evacuated on orders received via handi-talkie, leaving both the manifolds and E-219 pumps unmanned. After about ½ hour, firefighters unfamiliar with inactivity at a disaster started filtering back to continue doing what they could. (90 West Street still stands)
Though the McKean was pumping at capacity, water pressure at West Street was barely adequate due to the long distance. D.C. Mosier, sector chief at Albany and West Streets, had E-228 and E-216 respond to Albany and South End Avenue. With the assistance of firefighters on scene, many from New Jersey communities. These pumpers were inserted into the supply lines, each receiving two 3 ½ inch lines and relayed water to West Street. This was done to build the volume of water coming from Marine 1 to pressurize water, so firefighters in these buildings could fight the many fires. Subsequently E-14 at the same location and was supplied with a 3 ½ inch for relay.
Two of the 3 ½ inch supply lines to E-219 could not be interrupted due to the fact that it could not be determined who or what they were supplying and how critical those lines were. Later in the afternoon, members of Marine 1 took over the manning of two of the Engine Company’s pumping water to the site. By that night, fuel in these Pumpers became a problem. The Engineers from Marine 1 with 5 gallon cans of diesel and funnels from the McKean put fuel in these pumpers to keep them going until the Fire Department could get their Fuel Truck to the scene.
At about 2100 hours an engine company from the West Orange New Jersey F.D. arrived at the foot of Albany Street and said they had 5 inch hose that could be used to relay water if needed. After Marine Engineer Dennis Thomson, who had been the de facto OIC most of the day, determined that the fittings were compatible, the West Orange pumper was escorted to Albany Street and South End Avenue, where the three FDNY engine companies were already relaying water east. However, the West Orange unit did not have enough hose to go all the way to West Street. Still, more water could be supplied to the scene by supplying them with 5 inch hose and relaying with 3 ½ inch hose. At this point the Patterson Fire Department arrived and it was determined that not only did they have 5 inch hose, but the couplings were compatible with those of West Orange.
After lines were stretched and connections made, D.C. Mosier was informed that in effect, a 5 inch water main was now at his disposal at West and Albany Streets. Soon after construction equipment was arriving to start moving the many cars, trucks, and debre from around the scene. With the hose lines stretched across some of these streets, this became the next problem. Marine 1 Lieutenant Harry Wanamaker reported this to the D.C. Mosier, and was told to do what ever he had to, to solve the problem. Lt. Wanamaker had one of the construction crews trench the street, then had the hose lines moved into the trench and covered with wood so the trucks could pass without cutting the water supply.
At about 2300 hours a message was received in a round about way, that the Fire Department would go to a two platoon, 24 hour on 24 off schedule commencing at midnight, with the tours changing at 0900 daily. What that meant was that half of the members would be relieved at midnight and return at 9 AM for 24 hours. The other half would remain on duty until 0900 hours on Wednesday. In effect, some members would remain on duty for 48 continuous hours. Due to communication problems, some members remained on duty longer than that.
Exhausted, dirty angry and frustrated, some members refused to leave. Some were ordered to go back to Marine 1to get some sleep. Every FDNY engine company carries several lengths of 3 ½ inch hose for relay or to supply stand pipes. Marine 1 stripped every available engine company of all 3 ½ hose, utilized all 3 ½ hose on the boat, all old hose retrieved from quarters and all new hose delivered by technical services. It is estimated that Marine 1 supplied approximately 250 lengths of 3 ½ hose and 20 lengths of 5 inch hose during this operation, without exceeding its capability.
Marine 1 continued supplying water as the DWS gradually repaired, or isolated, the damaged water mains until sometime Friday, September 14th. Marine 1 stayed at the scene about 2 weeks, while sending crews to the scene to help dig on the pile.
Abe Conby, NIST FOIA release 36, photo taken as WTC7 burned without water being sprayed on it. This is 90 West Street that burned. A fire hose was apparently stretched up 30 floors of the adjacent building without losing sufficient pressure.
"The OEM had its own dispatch center that monitored all the frequencies used by New York City agencies. The center was used for personnel callbacks from the assigned staff of 104 people and for staffing the phone bank. Because the OEM did not have its own budget, its staff was provided by various city agencies, principally the NYPD, its original home department
As OEM staff began calling in from all over the city, the sound of the second plane striking Tower 2 was heard by dispatch center staff over their radio. This attack caused the internal alarms in Building 7 to activate, warning that there was no water pressure and that the emergency generator had been activated."
At 9:03 they reported a loss of water pressure, meaning something long before either collapse caused water service to be interrupted.
The South Tower is further away from WTC7's OEM than the North Tower. Why wasn't OEM affected by the North Tower strike at 8:46 am?
Water pressure alarm? Meaning a water main for lower Manhattan was damaged, not WTC7's own internal system that was mysteriously set on 'Test' earlier that morning, preventing the sprinklers from working. (According to BBC in my video. Other sources?) Was the alarm perhaps an internal Emergency Operations Center or Office of Emergency Management alarm in the 23rd floor "bunker," and not the loud alarm heard throughout the building after the WTC 2 collapse?
There was also allegedly a big explosion from the elevator shafts in the South Tower lobby minutes before collapse. Weird. I'd like to verify these reports. A direct source of these reports would be nice, too. But no footnotes for them.
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