Masonry Magazine January 1971 Page. 22
FIRE REPORT NO.2
"The lives of thousands of people will be in jeopardy if the New York City Building Code for skyscrapers isn't revised drastically following advice of fire prevention experts."
This warning was given today by A.J. Zotollo, president of the Metropolitan Brick Masonry Council, representing mason contractors and unions.
"More than 50 buildings completed or under construction in New York contain precisely the same hazards that turned No. 1 New York Plaza and 919 Third Avenue into deadly ovens," Mr. Zotollo said, noting that these super modern skyscrapers should be called combustible instead of fireproof. "The peril is also national, as illustrated by the deadly Bank of America fire last month in San Francisco."
"The tragic disaster last Friday again highlighted the vital need for fireproof stairwells with automatic vents permitting escape of smoke," Mr. Zotollo stated. "Excessive heat generated at No. 1 New York Plaza and 919 Third Avenue, creating temperatures of almost 2,000 degrees, caused steel-studded partitions covered with paper-covered sheet rock to melt or twist with lethal effect, while masonry remained fire rating performance in resistant buildings."
"The fact that the almost no advice from of the demonstrated scraper fires."
"The pressure to building product made in the code. The ma is a disaster.
919 Third Avenue, New York City