I wonder what they use in steel mills? (hehe).
I don't think the steel melted per say, it really just softened and
sagged. The tensile strength of the bolts holding the sections
together dropped somewhat, and they failed, dropping the section.
Musta been quite a fire! Probably the same type that incinerated some
toll booths back in the 70's -- GM was using the gas tank to protect
the chrome on the rear bumper in those days, so a rear-ender would rip
the tank off and pull the filler cap off as the filler tube got yanked
through the sheet metal. simultaneously igniting the fuel. The heated
vapor came blasting out the filler pipe (still intact, and not that hot
since the fire was about two feet away. The turbulence of the gas
stream gets the flame hot enough to go incandescent, much like an old
fashioned blow torch. The radiated heat from the flame keeps the fuel
evaporating nicely, and with a fairly small opening, could have burned
an hour or so. Hard to put out, as its HOT and really just a burning
ball of gas hanging in the air.
Peter
