Results tagged “fdnycommissionernicholasscoppetta”

Yesterday, the city announced that cigarette smoking by construction workers most likely caused the seven-alarm fire at the under-demolition Deutsche Bank building that claimed the lives of two firefighters on August 18. FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said, "Smoking was engaged in throughout the building, and particularly on the 17th floor, where the fire originated."

The Post and Daily News have a number of editorials and columns about the Deutsche Bank building fire response and fallout. The Post continues to demand FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's resignation and faulted Mayor Bloomberg for standing by Scoppetta. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez wonders why Bloomberg and Scoppetta have gone into "virtual hiding" and blasts Bloomberg for sending lobbyists to kill "legislation that would force tougher enforcement of safety laws by the city Buildings Department." The News also has an editorial saying that Spitzer must take charge (he "has the muscle to crack heads among the contractors and federal, state and city agencies that have made a perilous hash of the job").

- An intoxicated couple in their home filmed during an emergency call. The duo, David Campbell and Kevin Edell who made the tape when they covered Coney Island, also made fun of different neighborhoods (they called it the "armpit" of Brooklyn) and the FDNY.

The start of the barbecuing season - and the rest of the year - get bad news: Response times from the Fire Department have risen over the past eight months. Since last year, structural fire response time is 18 seconds slower, with an average response time of 4 minutes 35 seconds, while the FDNY response time for any incident averages to 5 minutes 27 seconds. FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta blames fire union bosses, for using "scare tactics" to have drivers slow down (ever since a truck crashed into an SUV while responding to a call, with an SUV passenger dying, drivers have been more cautious). Another possible reason for slow response time is the that fact firehouses close when their firefighters are going to training.