Reply #30: Elevators

[Kevin Fenton]

"I think you can rule out overpressures from falling elevators, entirely. It is not a violent enough reaction, It would build pressure gradually and maybe bend stuff, not rip. I doubt the shafts and doors would be tight enough. And I really don't think the elevators were filling the shafts sufficiently, that there was air passage on the sides which would be an easier route for the air to take."
You can't rule it out. It does depend on how tight the shafts are, as you suggested, but I did find one example (after the ESB was hit by a bomber) where a falling elevator blew the hatch doors off. You'd have to find out lots of facts like where all the elevators were, what the clearance was, etc., to rule it out.

A chunk of debris may not set an explosive off, but could dislodge it or damage the fuse/timer.

"I meant later when those other people heard bombs, you would see squibs at least around out of the burning/smoke filled floors."
If by "burning/smoke filled floors" you mean the impact floors, then the answer is not necessarily, because some of the elevator shafts that had the later explosions weren't connected to them.

I pretty much agree about the fuel.

"I meant that the chemicals/oil used and stored in the tower could be a fire/explosives hazard in case of fire."
Certainly, but I don't really know where they were stored - probably on the mechanical floors.