Why did John Gross claim he had no evidence of high temps in the WTC rubble?

updated 6/10/16 with additional eyewitness testimony provided by our reader Jerome Fryer, for which we are extremely grateful

Underground it was still so hot that molten metal dripped down the walls… Ken Holden, director NY Dept of Design & Construction, excerpted in video above

The video above shows John Gross, a NIST engineer who played a central role in the investigation of the WTC collapses, claiming he has seen no evidence of molten steel or excessively high temperatures in the WTC rubble. His interview – in which he displays obvious signs of discomfort – is intercut with eyewitnesses at Ground Zero describing red-hot, white-hot, or specifically “molten” steel in the rubble.

Such eye-witnesses are numerous, too numerous to all be quoted in the video, and they include firefighters, structural engineers and physicists. Dr Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl was one. Permitted to examine some of the structural steel before it was taken away for melting down, he reported many anomalies:

If you remember the Salvador Dali paintings with the clocks that are kind of melted–it’s kind of like that…That could only happen if you get steel yellow hot or white hot–perhaps around 2,000 degrees Dr Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, professor of civil and environmental engineering UCal Berkeley,

And he was far from being a lone witness:

The debris pile at Ground Zero was always tremendously hot. Thermal measurements taken by helicopter each day showed underground temperatures ranging from 400oF to more than 2,800oF. Jeffrey W. Vincoli CSP, CHCM et al

Typically, when steel bends, it buckles and tears. The smooth bend on this piece shows the steel became malleable — a pretty good indication of how hot it was. Mark Wagner, architect

It looked like an oven, just roaring inside… firefighter, interviewed in video above

Eight weeks later we still got fires burning…at one point I think they were about 2800 degrees firefighter, interviewed in video above

Underground it was still so hot that molten metal dripped down the walls… Ken Holden, director NY Dept of Design & Construction, excerpted in video above

As of 21 days after the attack, the fires were still burning and molten steel was still running.” Structural Engineers Association of Utah

I talked to many contractors and they said they actually saw molten metal trapped, beams had just totally had been melted because of the heat. Chaplain Herb Trimpe

You’d get down below and you’d see molten steel — molten steel! — running down the channel rails. Like you’re in a foundry… like lava… from a volcano.” FDNY Captain Ruvolo

…descended deep below street level to areas where underground fires still burned and steel flowed in molten streams.” The Atlantic Monthly

In some pockets now being uncovered, they are finding molten steel.” Alison Geyh, PhD.

Feeling the heat, seeing the molten steel, the layers upon layers of ash, like lava, it reminded me of Mt. St. Helens and the thousands who fled that disaster” Ron Burger

Going below, it was smoky and really hot… The debris past the columns was red-hot, molten, running.” Richard Garlock, structural engineer for LERA

Are we supposed to conclude all these observers, including respected professionals, were mistaken? This is a vital question because ordinary fires can’t reach temperatures sufficient to produce the effects on steel observed by these witnesses. So, if their observations and recordings are true there is clearly some phenomenon going on at Ground Zero unaccounted for by simple office fires.

It’s not necessary to espouse a conspiracy theory in order to recognize more investigation is needed.