BY ALINE REYNOLDS | Wooden decking supporting the 89th floor of One W.T.C. caught fire shortly after dawn on Sat., June 2, according to an Associated Press report.
According to the news report, the Fire Department of New York (F.D.N.Y.) received the emergency call at 7:15 that morning and rushed to the construction site to help on-site workers extinguish the blaze. While the workers had put out most of the fire themselves, firefighters were still at the scene spraying the area an hour after they were called for help.
Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the site’s owner, subsequently released a statement to the press saying that “everything worked exactly as it should have” thanks to the agency’s Police Department and Tishman Construction, in addition to the F.D.N.Y.
“After discovering smoldering plywood on an upper floor, workers used hand-held fire extinguishers to control the situation, and the F.D.N.Y. responded to extinguish the condition,” he said.
The incident was “very localized,” Foye noted, and therefore caused no injuries or structural damage to the building.
Nevertheless, as a result of the incident, the Port Authority along with the other relevant parties will conduct an “after-action review” in which the officials will assess the response to the fire and proceed to make any recommendations for improvement.
“The Port Authority has standing weekly meetings with the F.D.N.Y. to provide updates on construction progress and site operations,” said Foye. “As [the incident] proved, these briefings are invaluable to ensuring the utmost coordination for all activities on site.”
