Results tagged “josephgraffagnino”

When manslaughter charges against three construction supervisors (pictured) in the 2007 fatal Deutsche Bank building fire, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said of the tragedy, "Everyone who could have screwed up did screw up. It's just amazing the amount of mistakes that were made here."

Last year, a seven-alarm fire, started by a construction worker's smoking, broke out at the former Deutsche Bank building. Two firefighters died in the blaze, and now three construction supervisors overseeing in the building's dismantling are expected to face manslaughter charges from the Manhattan DA's office today.

Yesterday, the city remembered firefighters Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia, who died in last year's Deutsche Bank fire, and dedicated plaques in their memories at their firehouse in Soho. Though the investigation is continuing, the Post reports that prosecutors want "officials with the demolition contractor, John Galt Corp., and inspectors the company hired" to face homicide charges. When asked about the city possibly being charged as well, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, “I can tell you that in my heart of hearts, I don’t believe anybody deliberately did anything to make that building less safe. Were they derelict in their duty? Only time will tell.” Graffagino's widow said, "I'd like to see someone pay for what happened. A lot of people are to blame."

After being fired for speaking to a reporter, a lawyer who had represented a slain firefighter's family in their lawsuit against the city is now suing the widow and her children. Way to keep those bad stereotypes about lawyers going!

The sister of the 23-year FDNY veteran who died during the Deutsche Bank building last August is suing city agencies and contractors, citing their "wanton, willful, and reckless conduct" in his death.

Lawyers for the families of Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia, the two firefighters who died in the August 18 Deutsche Bank fire, have filed notices of claim to sue city and state agencies for up to $180 million. The lawyers are claiming that the "reckless, willful and wanton actions and inactions" of the various agencies, including the FDNY, Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, caused the fatal response to the blaze. The Deutsche Bank,...

Yet another depressing fact revealed about the Deutsche Bank demolition in the wake of two firefighters' deaths. The NY Times reports that contractors had created an emergency exit plan through sealed stairwells, but the firefighters didn't know about the plan. Fire department spokesman Francis X. Gribbon told the Times, “The Fire Department was not involved in creating this plan, specifically — and most importantly — with regard to the sealed staircases. We were not notified about it. We were not consulted about it.”

High-ranking firefighters in the field are claiming that the regulations that are supposed to keep FDNY members and the public safe are simply not feasible and rarely enforced. In the wake of the deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino during the Deutsche Bank fire in August when a standpipe to provide water to firehoses was found disconnected, it became clear that the FDNY itself had not inspected the building properly as required by law. All building and demolition sites are supposed to be inspected by the fire department every 15 days. The New York Times interviewed a number of chiefs, company commanders, and union officials who said that not only isn't that standard not upheld, but it would literally be impossible to comply with, and the top brass at the department know it.

Just five days after the Deutsche Bank building fire, two firefighters investigating the site at 130 Liberty Street were injured when a 300-pound piece of construction equipment fell from the 23rd floor. It turned out that a construction worker had lost control of a forklift; luckily a work shed broke the object's fall.

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...

Continue reading "Firefighter's Widow Speaks Out Against City"

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?"

Yesterday, firefighters and the community were in Bay Ridge to remember Joseph Graffagnino, one of the firefighters who died while fighting last Saturday's 7-alarm fire at the Deutsche Bank building. The building, which was in the process of being dismantled, has been described as a deathtrap, what with the contractors using flammable materials, a broken standpipe (which couldn't deliver water to the fire), and a lack of FDNY inspection.

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.

The Daily News has FDNY audio and transcripts from the 7-alarm fire at the Deutsche Bank building. The tapes are harrowing: One firefighter yells, "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Engine 24 standing by! I'm lost. I'm trying to make it on the charged hose line. Running out of air!" came a frantic call." Another says, "All the staircases, all the landings are plywooded up. ... It would take us a week to get through and check each one." And then a higher-ranking official says, "I want a roll call! ... I don't give a s--t about the building. I give a s--t about the guys!"

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.

Smoke is once again drifting across the skyline of downtown Manhattan near the World Trade Center site as the Deutsche Bank building on Liberty St. has caught fire. Initial reports said that scaffolding was falling from the building, which is under deconstruction. The fire was recently upgraded to 5 alarms 7 alarms and multiple firefighters have been injured. Two firefighters were triaged and designated in need of immediate care with a life-threatening condition and at least one reportedly was receiving CPR on the scene. Another five were designated as needing urgent care. We'll report more when additional information becomes available. Yesterday The New York Times featured a slide show about the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank Building.