Lower Ring
Falling ice danger
A freezing rain storm on March 2, 2007 had resulted in a layer of ice several centimetres thick forming on the side of the tower and other downtown buildings. The sun thawed the ice, and winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) blew some of it away from the structure. There were fears that cars and windows of nearby buildings would be smashed by large chunks of ice. In response, police closed some streets surrounding the CN Tower. During morning rush hour on March 5, police expanded the area of closed streets to include the Gardiner Expressway 310 metres (1,017 ft) away from the tower, as increased winds blew the ice farther away, as far north as King Street, 490 metres (1,608 ft) away, where a taxicab window was shattered.
On March 6, the Gardiner Expressway was reopened after winds died down.[11] It was the first time such an event had posed a threat to public safety.
Safety features
Inside the 360 Restaurant in the CN TowerIn August of 2000, a fire broke out at the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, killing several people and causing expensive damage. The fire was blamed on poor maintenance and outdated equipment. The failure of the fire-suppression systems and the lack of proper equipment for firefighters allowed the fire to destroy most of the interior and spark fears the tower might even collapse.
The Ostankino Tower was built 9 years before the CN Tower and is only 13 metres shorter. However, Canadian officials subsequently stated that it is "highly unlikely" that a similar disaster could occur at the CN Tower as it has safeguards that were not present in the Ostankino Tower. Specifically, officials cited:
the fireproof building materials used in the tower's construction,
frequent and stringent safety inspections,
an extensive sprinkler system,
a 24-hour emergency monitoring operation,
two 15,000-imperial gallon water reservoirs at the top which are automatically replenished,
a fire hose at the base of the structure capable of sending 600 imperial gallons a minute to any location in the tower,
a ban on gas appliances anywhere in the tower,
an elevator that can be used during a fire as it runs up the outside of the building and can be powered by three emergency generators at the base of the structure (unlike the elevator at the Ostankino tower, which seriously malfunctioned).[12]
Officials also noted that the CN Tower has an excellent safety record and that there has never been accidental fire in the Tower since it was opened in 1976.[12] Moreover, other tall structures built between 1967-1976, such as the Sears Tower, the World Trade Center (excluding the terrorist attacks), the John Hancock Center and the Aon Center also have excellent safety records, which suggests that the Ostankino Tower fire was a rare safety failure.
LED lights
The CN Tower illuminated, as seen from downtown Toronto.The CN Tower was once lit at night with incandescent lights, but they were removed in 1997 because they were expensive and inefficient to repair. During early June 2007, the CN Tower was outfitted with 1,330 super-bright LED lights inside the elevator shafts, shooting up over the "bubble" and upward to the top of the tower's mast to light the tower from dusk until 2 a.m. The official opening ceremony took place on June 28 before the Canada Day holiday weekend. After the 95th Grey Cup in Toronto the CN tower was lit up in green and white to represent the colours of the Grey Cup champions Saskatchewan Roughriders[13]
Programmed from a desktop computer with a wireless network interface card, the LEDs use less energy to light than the previously used incandescent lights (10% less energy than the dimly lit version and 60% less than the brightly lit version). The estimated cost to use the LEDs is $1,000 per month.
During the spring and autumn bird migration seasons, officials have stated that the lights will be turned off to comply with the voluntary Fatal Light Awareness Program, which "encourages buildings to dim unnecessary exterior lighting to mitigate bird mortality during spring and summer migration."[14]
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this video is bizarre
tiff1028 3 years ago 8