On the physics of high-rise building collapses

neither before nor since 9/11 have fires caused the total collapse of a steel-framed high-riseā€”nor has any other natural event, with the exception of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which toppled a 21-story office building. Otherwise, the only phenomenon capable of collapsing such buildings completely has been by way of a procedure known as controlled demolition, whereby explosives or other devices are used to bring down a structure intentionally.