Pentagon

Project Detail

In anticipation of the need for better security for one of the nation’s most important structures, the Pentagon had fragment retention film installed by Commercial Window Film to the interior surface of all the exterior facing glass on the outer building E-ring and the Child Care Center in 1998. Three years later, on 9/11/01, after an airliner piloted by terrorists crashed into the building, hundreds of lives were saved because the protected glass held in place.

This event, most than any other in the history of the security window film industry, showed how effective and important fragment retention film installation is on important buildings. When the airplane struck the building, there was no product capable of preventing the destruction at the point of impact. However, surrounding areas were protected. Cracked glass and glass held together by the film could be seen in various live news and magazine pictures of the event.

The project involved applying security film to the inside surface of some 2,800 panes of glass. It was not an easy project as security was tight and complicated, causing numerous delays. Nevertheless, Commercial Window Shield completed the project to the satisfaction of Pentagon officials. And on 9/11 the decision to have installed the film three years earlier was born out to be a fortuitous one.