Below is an open letter I am sending to James M. Shannon, President and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association. I wanted to post it here first to get your feedback. I know that NFPA and Underwriter's Labs work together and Ketih Williams, President and CEO of UL, also is an NFPA officer.

James M. Shannon
President and CEO
National Fire Protection Association
1 Batterymarch Park
Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471

Dear Mr. Shannon,

As an NFPA member, I’ve been interested in any word the Journal has had to say about the events of 9-11, particularly pertaining to the building fires, subsequent building disintegration and the tragic firefighter and civilian deaths. While reading through the Fall 2007 “Century of Innovation” issue, I noticed an article authored by Lisa Nadile, in reference to the subject, as well as quotes from you. Specifically, in the article, The People Behind NFPA Journal, you state, “However, from the beginning NFPA and the Journal editors knew that the key to understanding 9-11 relied on asking the right questions.”

Earlier in the article, you’re quoted recalling the moment you heard of the first tower’s demise: “When I was told that the first tower collapsed, I remember thinking, ‘did he mean the antennae on top of the tower?’” Similarly, after a co-worker told me of the first tower’s fall, I thought perhaps the damaged floors had given way and fallen into the street or were stacked up on top of the other 80 – 90% of the undamaged and intact floors. Watching the symmetrical and physics-defying disintegration replay a few minutes later, I thought the so-called collapse looked very unnatural. However, like most U.S. citizens, I walked around in a stupor for the next few days, mesmerized by the “shock and awe” of the event and was further distracted by the ensuing war and life, in general.

Not until 2006 did I re-examine some of the video evidence from that murderous day. I listened to firefighters and other witnesses describe multiple explosions. I encountered some very interesting and highly relevant statistics, the most glaring of which is the fact that no steel-framed hi-rise ever collapsed before or since 9-11 due to the effects of fire and damage. Could this have contributed to so many firefighters dying that day – their experience told them they need not worry about a steel-frame structure collapsing due to fire and damage? In the above referenced issue of the NFPA Journal, summary coverage is provided on numerous such examples – the Los Angeles Interstate Bank fire, the DuPont Hotel fire, the MGM Grand fire, the Westchase Hilton fire and even the North Tower of the WTC itself in 1975. Adding to the list of questions, I also learned that a third hi-rise fell that day, the 47-story World Trade Center building seven. Astonishingly, this building had not been hit by either plane, but still sank neatly and quickly into its own footprint several hours after the first two towers. Has the NFPA asked the right questions?

Curiously, on page 173 under the “In a Flash” section, a reprint of a column from the Sept/Oct 2002 issue compares the size of the towers’ floor area to the size of various aircraft. The author of that article draws the vague conclusion, “the likelihood of a building surviving an aircraft impact decreases as aircraft size and speed increase.” Of course, it’s the relative size that really matters along with small details like construction materials. The fact is, Mr. Shannon, we both know those buildings survived the airliner impacts for approximately one hour as the fires decreased in intensity and began to emit large amounts of black smoke – a sign of poor combustion. A firefighter can be heard on one of the radio recordings from the day saying he had reached the 82nd floor of one of the towers and discovered only two pockets of isolated fire that he could easily knock down. Given the unprecedented level of building destruction and the number of firefighter and civilian casualties, has the NFPA asked the right questions?

Now, dozens of organized groups focused on the events of that day are calling for a new and truly independent investigation. For example, ae911.org is a group of 230 professional architects and engineers along with 619 other individuals including A&E students to demand a new investigation. More than 200 individuals have applied for membership in Scholars for 9-11 Truth and Justice. Pilots for 9/11 Truth is an organization of aviation professionals and pilots throughout the globe who are committed to seeking the truth surrounding the events of the 11th of September 2001. These are just a few examples of how thousands of individuals around the world have noticed inconsistencies in all aspects of the official story of that day and are joining together to stop the charade.

Once again, I paraphrase your own words: Has the NFPA asked the right questions to understand 9-11? Given the above facts, I don’t think so. An elementary list of the right questions would include these examples: Why did so many witnesses, including professional firefighters, report multiple explosions before the towers fell? Immediately after the towers began to fall, if fire and gravity were the only forces acting on the structures, how were many, many large structural steel members ejected laterally hundreds of feet? Why would at least one firefighter say, in one of the towers, “the lobby looked like the plane hit the lobby?” How did two 110-story buildings collapse at nearly free-fall speed, as if the lower 80 – 90 undamaged floors provided no more resistance than air? Why was molten metal discovered under the debris weeks after 9-11, even though NIST’s own investigation claims the hydrocarbon fires could not have reached levels sufficient to melt steel?

How many others of our membership believe as I do, that the official story is full of contradictions, omissions and distortions? There’s still time for a real investigation, but it’s growing shorter by the day. Hundreds of sick and dying first responders are waiting. Family members of victims are waiting. The world is waiting. History is calling, Mr. Shannon. Will you answer the call?

Scott Bowers
Highlands Ranch, CO