Reply #93: I don't believe it was coached at all...

[mikelewis]

There are a lot of potable water pipes that fed those floors, bathrooms, kitches and drinking fountains require a lot of water. Also, it's guaranteed that several connection and sprinkler systems were destroyed by the impact and these would release even more water. But it would not have taken out the entire system nor would the system have failed due to the amount of sprinklers operating at the same time.

The firefighter simply stated his opinion and a real fear they must have had. If the planes had breached the core of the building and severed the supply pipes, dousing the flames would have been almost impossible. They would have had to let the building burn out. They also had to be very concerned about the people trapped above the fires. Without a functional suppression system, those people probably wouldn't make it out safely. With the compartmentalization, the fire may have been contained but when you're slugging up 80 floors to fight a fire and rescue people, watching all that water pour down the steps had to have been frightening.

And you are right about the system operating. That is clear proof that the system was pumping water. If the core pipes were compromised, the water would have shut off immediately because of the loss of pressure. This is a clear indication that the some of the leads off the main pipes had been damaged and many of the potable water pipes as well.