Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7. Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster (NIST NCSTAR 1A) ***DRAFT for Public Comments***

Published

August 1, 2008

Author(s)

Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder, Richard G. Gann, William L. Grosshandler, Hai S. Lew, Richard W. Bukowski, Fahim Sadek, Frank W. Gayle, Jason D. Averill, James R. Lawson, Harold E. Nelson, Stephen A. Cauffman

Abstract

This is the final report on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation of the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7), conducted under the National Construction Safety Team Act. This report describes how the fires that followed the impact of debris from the collapse of WTC 1 (the north tower) led to the collapse of WTC 7; an evaluation of the building evacuation and emergency response procedures; what procedures and practices were used in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the building; and areas in current building and fire codes, standards, and practices that warrant revision. Extensive details are found in the companion reports, NIST NCST AR 1-9 and NIST NCST AR 1-9A. Also in this report is a summary of how NIST reached its conclusions. NIST complemented in-house expertise with private sector technical experts; accumulated copious documents, photographs, and videos of the disaster; conducted first-person interviews of building occupants and emergency responders; analyzed the evacuation and emergency response operations in and around WTC 7; performed computer simulations of the behavior of WTC 7 on September 11, 2001; and combined the knowledge gained into a probable collapse sequence. The report concludes with a list of 13 recommendations for action in the areas of increased structural integrity, enhanced fire endurance of structures, new methods for fire resistant design of structures, enhanced active fire protection, improved emergency response, improved procedures and practices, and education and training. One of these is new; the other 12 are reiterated from the investigation into the collapse of the WTC towers. Each of the 13 is relevant to WTC 7.

Citation

National Construction Safety Team Act Reports (NIST NCSTAR) - 1A

Report Number

1A

NIST Pub Series

National Construction Safety Team Act Reports (NIST NCSTAR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

World Trade Center, building collapse, disasters, building fires, building construction, fire investigations, fire investigators, evacuation, fire safety, structural collapse, high rise buildings, structures, fire protection, combustibles, fire spread, scenarios, structural analysis, failure, debris, impact, damage, reconstruction, thermal effects, life safety, emergencies, codes, standards, building design, human performance, human factors engineering, fire endurance, structural integrity, education, training, legislation, structural design

Citation

Shyam-Sunder, S. , Gann, R. , Grosshandler, W. , Lew, H. , Bukowski, R. , Sadek, F. , Gayle, F. , Averill, J. , Lawson, J. , Nelson, H. and Cauffman, S. (2008), Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7. Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster (NIST NCSTAR 1A) ***DRAFT for Public Comments***, National Construction Safety Team Act Reports (NIST NCSTAR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=909254 (Accessed October 10, 2025)