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Broken water pipe found in building where firefighters died

BY ANN GIVENS | ann.givens@newsday.com

11:29 PM EDT, August 20, 2007

An abandoned skyscraper just steps from Ground Zero where two firefighters died battling an inferno was cited for numerous safety violations in the weeks leading up to the fire, city and federal reports show.

Firefighters learned Monday that a pipe meant to get water to the upper stories of the old Deutsche Bank building where the fire was raging had been taken apart, and the building's sprinkler system wasn't working.

Add that to violations that city and federal officials have issued in recent months for holes in the floor, falling debris and sparks flying near combustible material, and many say it's no wonder that the fire that started Saturday wound up as a catastrophe.

"It is devastating to lose two firefighters, especially in a building that is essentially a vertical Love Canal and a toxic pile of rubbish," said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. "This is inexcusable."

Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, and Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island, died after suffering severe smoke inhalation and going into cardiac arrest, fire officials said.

Services will be held for Graffagnino Thursday at St. Ephrem's Roman Catholic Church in Bay Ridge, and for Beddia Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. In a news release Monday night, city and fire officials said they don't know what started the fire on the building's 17th floor. However, they said the blaze began in an area where workers exited the building by an outdoor elevator after cleaning themselves of harmful chemicals.

Witnesses said workers sometimes smoked in that area and that there was also some electrical equipment there, including a hot water heater used to heat the decontamination shower, city officials said.

"Full and comprehensive investigations are under way," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. "We are using every possible resource to find out how this fire started and what went wrong."

A New York City Fire Department spokesman said he did not know the last time fire officials had done a walk-through of the abandoned building to make sure the water pipes were working and to map entrances, staircases and hazardous materials. However, city officials say the fire and building departments have conducted inspections, and reports from those inspections are being reviewed.

Both the City Building Department and the U.S. Department of Labor had issued numerous fines and citations for the building, which is owned by the Empire State Development Corp. OSHA cited building subcontractor John Galt Corp. for violations including holes in the floors, absence of guardrails and falling debris, while city inspectors cited the project for excessive amounts of combustible debris and plywood around the site.

Errol Cockfield, a spokesman for the Empire State Development Corp., said the agency did all it could to enforce safety standards at the building.

"At every turn of this project, we've urged them to take all necessary safety precautions," he said. "We've been as aggressive as we could possibly be."

Fire officials said a host of conditions came together to make the fire at the old Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. especially hellish: In addition to the failure of the water supply, the more than 275 firefighters who fought the blaze were forced to travel on a single exterior elevator, and the demolition had left gaps in floors and ceilings that helped the fire spread.

The Deutsche Bank building, deemed a toxic site since the Twin Towers fell in September 2001, was being deconstructed floor by floor when fire broke out Saturday about 3:40 p.m.

Despite conditions in the building, Fire Department Spokesman Jim Long said firefighters had no choice but to enter it because workers or others may have been trapped inside. Because the fire was so high up, the fire could not be fought from outside.

The city building department has ordered work at the building be stopped until further notice.

Outside Engine 24, Ladder 5 in Manhattan Monday, residents mourned the firefighters and raged that the men were sent into a building that was being taken down anyway.

At Beddia's home in Staten Island Monday, a modest memorial to the fallen firefighter continued to grow. Neighborhood kids put a children's fire truck they signed on the stoop. A young girl took a break from playing to bring a large bunch of flowers to the house.

Later, a fire marshal, several family friends and Beddia's ex-wife came to secure the house and gather possessions. As he left, the marshal stepped gingerly over the memorial, then bent over to read the memorial left by the little girl.

Matthew Chayes and Matt Nestel contributed to this story.