Butch Brandies

Firefighters notice significant damage to World Trade Center Building 7 at some point after the Twin Towers collapsed. Butch Brandies tells other firefighters that nobody is to go into WTC 7 because of creaking and noises coming out of there. [Firehouse Magazine, 9/9/2002] According to Deputy Chief Peter Hayden, there is a bulge in the southwest corner of the building between floors 10 and 13. [Firehouse Magazine, 9/2/2002] Battalion Chief John Norman will later recall, “At the edge of the south face you could see that it was very heavily damaged.” [Firehouse Magazine, 9/2/2002] Deputy Chief Nick Visconti will recall, “A big chunk of the lower floors had been taken out on the Vesey Street side.” [Firehouse Magazine, 9/9/2002] Captain Chris Boyle will say, “On the south side of [WTC] 7 there had to be a hole 20 stories tall in the building, with fire on several floors.” [Firehouse Magazine, 9/9/2002] One witness will describe looking at the south face of the building and seeing “broken windows, damage to the building, I-beams sticking out.” Another witness will describe seeing 10 to 15 floors where “the corner I-beam was missing,” and add that “there were more floors that had damage throughout the front facade of the building and several floors were completely exposed.” [Aegis Insurance Services, Inc. v. 7 World Trade Center Company, LP, 12/4/2013 ] Richard Rotanz, the deputy director of New York’s Office of Emergency Management, assesses the condition of WTC 7 at around 12:30 p.m. “We’re looking at the upper floors of Tower 7,” he will recall. “The skin of the building or the outside skirt of the building was taken out,” he will say. “You could see columns gone, floors collapsed, heavy smoke coming out, and fire.” [BBC, 7/6/2008; BBC, 10/17/2008] WTC 7 will collapse at around 5:20 p.m. (see (5:20 p.m.) September 11, 2001). [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 111]