With Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's year-end resignation coming soon, the city is looking for the next FDNY Commish—and it could be a woman. NY1 reports that its sources say that "Mylan Denerstein is being considered for the position. If named, she would be the first woman to be city fire commissioner. Denerstein is no stranger to the New York City Fire Department, having served as deputy fire commissioner for legal affairs from 2003 to 2006. She has served as executive deputy attorney general for social justice for the state since January 2007." more ›

Last October, a fire was started outside the Engine 34/Ladder 21 firehouse on West 38th Street. The fire was put out, but upon investigation, it turned out the ones who set it were firefighters from different firehouses! A surveillance cameras actually captured Michael Izzo and Richard Capece purchasing the gasoline at a gas station and later splashing the stationhouse's garage door and igniting it, setting off what was described as a fireball. more ›

A "rising star" in the Fire Department was found with three gunshot to the head in his Staten Island home Sunday morning. The ME's office said that Douglas J. Mercereau's death was a homicide. It's believed that his 38-year-old wife, Janet Redmond-Mercereau, is a suspect (the Daily News calls her the "prime suspect"). She called 911 around 8:25AM on Sunday, saying she found her husband's body. The Staten Island Advance says the couple had "started... more ›

This is not good timing for the Fire Department. Yesterday, two police officers noticed a fire in a West Farms house and saved its seven residents. Then, noticing that the house next door was on fire, the two cops evacuated five more people. One of the officers, Chris Scott, said that the the FDNY showed up during the second fire, and the residents lauded their efforts. Judy Ramdeen said, "They rushed into a burning building and made sure everybody had gotten out. They went that little extra mile to make sure everyone was out and OK. So I thank them." more ›

An illegal restaurant may have been the cause of a gas leak that caused a Manhattan apartment building to explode, injuring 20 people late yesterday afternoon. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said a gas leak caused a flash fire that blew out the walls of several apartments in the 20-unit building. Five people suffered serious burns and one firefighter was injured by falling debris while on the scene. Another firefighter was also hurt. Four of the burn victims were children. Investigators are uncertain of the source of the leak, but neighbors said one of the apartments housed an unlicensed takeout restaurant that served taxi drivers in the neighborhood. more ›

Anger and frustration about the Deutsche Bank fire that claimed two firefighters' lives simply continues to mount as the Uniformed Firefighters Association says helicopters could have prevented the tragedy. Union president Stephen Cassidy said, "I think it’s very possible that the outcome would have been entirely different." more ›

Two weeks ago today, a 7-alarm fire at 130 Liberty Street, at the under-demolition Deutsche Bank building, claimed the lives of two firefighters, Robert Beddia, a 24-year FDNY veteran, and Joseph Graffagnino, an 8-year vet. In the wake of the tragedy, investigations revealed that though smoking by construction workers probably caused the fire, there were a series of failures on the part of the contractor and FDNY, as well as state and city agencies. Graffagnino's widow Linda angrily lashed out at the city in comments to the Post and Daily News:

With the city, it's really all about money; it's not about human life. Now who is paying the price? Me, my in-laws and my children. The firefighters, they're the good guys, and it's the city's responsibility to protect them... more ›

It's been just about two weeks since the 7-alarm fire at the Deutsche Bank building, and the city and state are still trying to figure out how to proceed with the WTC-dust contaminated building's dismantling. The Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation asking for the building to be sealed up "to protect public health and the environment." It was only when the EPA had given its approval for a deconstruction plan last September that the officials were able to develop a timeline for the building's dismantling. The LMDC, which has been presenting a "new, less restrictive plan" for demolition, only said that the plan will "assess and address all potential risks to those who live and work near the building, first responders and others." more ›

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." more ›

Firefighters and elected officials were at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday for the second funeral of a firefighter killed while fighting last Saturday's Deutsche Bank building fire. Twenty-three FDNY veteran Robert Beddia was remembered by his sister, who eulogized, "You are my friend, you are my brother, you are my hero... Remember those days of playing chess, Risk and Monopoly? Remember how many of my high school friends had secret crushes on you? Remember when you walked me down the aisle? Remember when you danced with me on my wedding day?" more ›

The FDNY did not inspect the Deutsche Bank building every 15 days, "as required by city rules for buildings being demolished" (NY Times). This revelation, coupled with the fact that the FDNY did not have a plan to go into the burning building, prompts the Post to demand that Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta leave his post. more ›

Two veteran firefighters were killed in a blaze at the abandoned Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. yesterday. The building was in the process of being dismantled after it was damaged beyond repair during the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001. The New York Times reports that the fire started on the 17th floor, allowing the blaze to mushroom out of control as it consumed construction equipment and scaffolding, which fell to the street below. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but a deconstruction crew was working at the site before the fire broke out and a police source told The Daily News that fire may have been caused by a construction worker's cigarette. more ›

- Last month a structural fire on Staten Island was started by a child playing with fireworks in his bedroom.Mayor Bloomberg said, "In the hands of a trained professional, fireworks can produce some of the most thrilling shows you'll ever see. But in the hands of an amateur, they are very dangerous and illegal," and urges New Yorkers to call 311 to report illegal fireworks. more ›

A 23-year-old firefighter died from injuries sustained while responding to a fire at 146 Leonard Street in East Williamsburg. Daniel Pujdak, a 2-year veteran with Ladder 146, fell four floors from a bucket ladder and suffered serious head injuries; he was pronounced dead at Bellevue shortly after. Over 60 firefighters were needed to control the fire, which allegedly started because of a cigarette left on a window sill. more ›

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Fire Department, saying that FDNY exams in 1999 and 2002 discriminated against black and Hispanic candidates. Black and HIspanic candidates fail the exam at much higher rates, and currently, the blacks and Hispanics make up only 7.5% of the FDNY's 11,000 firefighters. The NY Times notes that the fire departments of LA and Philadelphia are more than 40% black or Hispanic. more ›

Two years ago, in their infinite wisdom, Congress moved the start of Daylight Saving Time up three weeks to the second Sunday in March. That's tonight! Don't forget to adjust your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed. The reason for the date switch was to save energy. more ›

Today, Mayor Bloomberg met with the Bronx fire victims' families and later held a press conference about the tragedy, which is the deadliest fire (aside from September 11) since 1990 . The Mayor has been under fire for leaving the city yesterday - after a Thursday press conference about the fire - for a scheduled appearance in Miami, where he made jokes about "Mayors Gone Wild" in South Beach. more ›

The Fire Department has been working with the US Naval Research Laboratory to develop transmitting chips for firefighter's gear that will allow electronic tracking of firefighters on the scene of a blaze. The chip would have to withstand the heat, smoke and water found while fighting a fire. It would be activated when a firefighter boards a truck to respond to a call. more ›

At yesterday's memorial service at St. Paul's Chapel, President Bush said hello to retired firefighter Bob Beckwith. Beckwith is the firefighter standing with Bush on September 14, 2001, standing amidst the rubble. The Daily News spoke to Beckwith, who now does give speeches, but donates the proceeds:

Beckwith had served New York City honorably but in relative obscurity for three decades as a firefighter at Ladder 117 in Astoria, Queens. more ›

The city is mourning the deaths of two firefighters who helped fight a Bronx building fire on Sunday. Following Sunday's death of probie firefighter Michael Reilly, 20-year FDNY veteran Lieutenant Howard Carpluk Jr. died yesterday after being hospitalized for his injuries. Investigators are now examining the three-alarm fire, which the NY Times describes as a routine call that turned into disaster. At first, it was thought that a heavy rooftop air-conditioning unit fell through the roof and through the first floor, creating a hole that took five firefighters into the basement, but now it's believed that the ground floor might not have been properly supported. The building had suffered a fire in 2000, and the repairs made to it after that are being examined. An official said, "The big question is the structural integrity of the floor. Buildings like this can hold a lot of weight. For all intents and purposes, the floor should not have collapsed unless it was severely compromised - not in a little store in 15 or 20 minutes. We have to find out if it was missing some structural support that made it vulnerable." more ›

A three story building at 34 East 62nd Street, between Madison and Park Avenues, has collapsed. Reports say that there was an explosion and fire. It's unclear if there are any people inside. Fire Department staging is at East 65th Street; expect lots of traffic diversions in that area. more ›

You know it's summer when the Mayor, Fire Commissioner, and Police Commissioner hold a press conference to remind New Yorkers that the city has a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to fireworks. Against a colorful display of contraband materials, the Mayor said, "If you are caught using fireworks, we can and we will arrest you. If you are caught selling fireworks, we can and will shut down your business and starting this year, if you are caught smuggling or transporting fireworks, we can and will confiscate your car." While we understand the safety reasons for stricter rules, this also sounds very Giuliani-esque. Which makes sense, since Giuliani formed the Joint Fireworks Taskforce in 1995, and prohibited fireworks during Chinese New Year in 1997. It's all about the confetti launchers, though they probably shouldn't be used near sparklers. more ›

A five-alarm fire at the abandoned Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse/Market is being fought this morning in dramatic fashion: News choppers show that the FDNY's marine units are at work - the warehouse occupie a 200' by 600' lot along the East River. (WNBC's Vivian Lee, on location, said the fire was making it feel like a 100 degree day even 50 yards away.) Last year, Tien visited the terminal market last year and found a description of it from the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Environmental Impact Study:

The Greenpoint Terminal Market site occupies over three blocks of land along the East River between Greenpoint Avenue and Oak Street. This site, which is largely vacant, includes six industrial buildings ranging in height from one to seven stories, several of which are severely deteriorated. Immediately south of the Greenpoint Terminal Market is a now vacant piece of land formerly occupied by Consolidated Freight, a national freight forwarding company that declared bankruptcy in August 2002.

This morning's NY Times article about some very high-ranking city officials who get a salary AND pension at the same time from the city's payroll is fascinating. For a mayor who wants to limit pensions and benefits for other unions, Mayor Bloomberg has made a point of requesting special waivers for certain retired city workers to draw pensions as they return to the city workforce, and the Times's opening is hilarious:

One of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's first acts on starting his second term was to write a letter to personnel officials asking that his correction commissioner, Martin F. Horn, be allowed to collect a pension along with his $178,200 salary. more ›

After trying to get access to the tapes three and a half years ago, the NY Times reports that the city will finally release reports of oral histories from the FDNY and emergency workers. The Times writes:

The histories - a mosaic of vision and memory recalling the human struggle against surging fire, confusion, and horror - were compiled by the New York City Fire Department beginning in October 2001, but to this date, no one from the department has read them all or used them for any official purpose.

Scoppetta remind us of someone! more ›

Yesterday's building collapse at Broadway and 100th Street is believed to have been caused by the demolition company, which put a backhoe on the structure it was tearing down, causing stress and the building to buckle. The collapse occured at 9:23AM, and many residents and shop owners in the neighborhood rushed to help firefighters and police officers with rescue efforts. Five people (waiting for a bus, walking down the street) and five firefighters were injured, but no one was seriously hurt or killed. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said the damage could have been a lot worse, and of course, some New Yorkers were utterly freaked out. Here's an alarmist quote from Raquel Gayle, who told the NY Times, "Boom, I saw rocks falling. I was petrified; I thought it was like London, with the terrorist attacks." Oh, dear. more ›

C. Virginia Fields' campaign has been spinning ever since Fliergate. Yesterday, she held an emergency press conference, with real life Asians (as opposed to Photoshopped ones), telling reporters, "By and large, I knew all of [the people in the montage], except the two Asians in there, I don't know them." Fields' new campaign manager is Chinese - Chung Seto, whom Newsday says holds the "highest position" for an Asian in any campaign. Fields' solution to the problematic flier was to blame the company, Winning Direction, and say she'd "withdraw" the mailing, so if you see some people lurking around your mailbox, they might be Fields campaign operatives! One man who was in the flier picture, David Givens, was annoyed and told the Post, "If you're going to put my photo in campaign material, please tell me. I haven't endorsed her." Which brings us to the other Fields problem: She has a "casual" photograph of herself with some firefighters in both the flier and on her website, and it turns out that the Fire Department doesn't allow photographs of firefighters in political campaigns. The FDNY said that even though firefighters might appear in news conferences that are used by political candidates, Deputy Fire Commissioner Francis Gribbon tolds the NY Times, "We don't endorse political candidates or become involved in campaigns in any way. So we would not allow it." Unless it's a politician tugging at the September 11 heartstrings, because Gothamist feels like we've seen a lot of those. more ›

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Mayor Bloomberg announced that any city officials who don't agree with his policies can consider working elsewhere. Many believe he said as much to counter Fire Chief Peter Hayden's public testimony that the Mayor Bloomberg-endorsed plan for the NYPD to lead emergency response situations is deeply flawed. The Mayor's words, from the NY Times:

"My job is not to be angry; my job is to make sure that everybody works together. There are always going to be differences of opinion. But everybody, in the end, if they want to work for the city, is going to get together and work together and follow the decisions that the mayor was elected to make. I expect that to be the case here." more ›