Wants Agency Heads Grilled
UFA Leader: FDNY Probe a Whitewash

By ARI PAUL

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy criticized the Fire Department's investigation into the fatal fire at 130 Liberty St. at a press conference Sept. 5, alleging that it was not looking into what happened prior to the Aug. 18 incident.

NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA: Arouses UFA's suspicion.

He also pointed to a Sept. 2 article in the Daily News quoting an unnamed fire officer saying that Firefighter Robert Beddia, who died at the Aug. 18 fire, had five minutes of oxygen left in his breathing apparatus when he perished. Mr. Cassidy said the leak was an attempt to shift focus away from the department.

'Subpoena the Top Brass'

"We're calling on [the Department of Investigation] today to investigate the leak that happened at the top of the Fire Department," Mr. Cassidy told reporters at the union's East Side headquarters. "We're hoping, and we believe that it's happening now, that subpoenas will be issued to all the top commanders in the Fire Department, that they will be brought in by the [Manhattan District Attorney] and put under oath so that they can get the real truth."

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang 'SHIFTING THE BLAME': Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy accuses the Fire Department of a cover-up for allegedly not looking into pre-fire procedures in its investigation of the fatal Deutsche Bank Building fire. He also called for the Department of Investigation to look into who leaked information about the probe to the Daily News.

The UFA called on State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Aug. 26 to launch an investigation into the fire. Later that day, the Attorney General announced his office would conduct a probe in addition to the Fire Department and District Attorney's investigations.

"It's become clear again the New York City Fire Department cannot conduct an investigation in the Deutsche Bank Building tragedy," Mr. Cassidy said. "They have not to date interviewed anyone about the pre-fire conditions. They have not interviewed any of the top staff as it relates to what they knew, when they knew it prior to the fatal fire." Mr. Cassidy said top department officials informed the union that it was not investigating pre-fire procedures and conditions. Department spokesman Jim Long denied the union's claim, adding that it was "looking into all aspects of the Deutsche Bank incident."

Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow A PLAN IN THE WORKS?: Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Chairman Avi Schick addressed Community Board 1 in lower Manhattan Sept. 5 about the implementation of a community notification plan in light of the fire at the Deutsche Bank Building Aug. 18. Looking on is Deputy Mayor for Administration Edward Skyler.

Deadly Edifice

Mr. Long also could not confirm the anonymous fire officer's claims in the Daily News article.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation bought the building, which had been damaged during the 9/11 attacks, and had planned to have it abated and demolished by the end of 2007. When firefighters responded to the fire Aug. 18, a standpipe was found to be non-operational. Two Firefighters, Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino, died during the fire. Two Firefighters were injured Aug. 23 when scaffolding fell from the building. Deconstruction of the building had been halted, but workers continued to clean up the site after the fire. In May, a piece of pipe fell from the building, landing on the firehouse below and injuring two Firefighters.

The Fire Department relieved three fire officers of their duties and reassigned them for failing to exercise vigilance in monitoring the building. One of them, Capt. Peter Bosco of Engine Company 10, said that even though the department was obligated to inspect the building every 15 days, he had orders not to send firefighters inside because it was contaminated. Mr. Cassidy has joined the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in saying that none of the three fire officers reassigned should be held responsible for the department's failure to inspect the building or to implement a unique emergency plan. In early 2005, Battalion Chief William Siegel sent memos on three separate occasions calling for such a plan to be drafted. In October of 2005, he was promoted to Deputy Chief and this past January he became a Deputy Assistant Chief who was placed in charge of the Special Operations Command. Both the UFA and the UFOA believed Chief Siegel must have passed on such information to Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

Points to Scoppetta

"The Fire Commissioner is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations of the New York City Fire Department," Mr. Cassidy said. "And he didn't get this job yesterday. Two years ago nobody can pretend they didn't know what the Deutsche Bank was." At a meeting of Community Board 1 in lower Manhattan Sept. 5, Deputy Mayor for Administration Edward Skyler gave an update on investigations and repairs at 130 Liberty St. In regards to the Fire Department's investigation, he would say only that Fire Marshals have concluded that cigarette-smoking caused the fire. He reported that the department successfully tested the building's standpipe, which he estimated would be code-compliant by this week.

"We've made substantial progress securing 130 Liberty St. and getting things as close to back to normal as possible," Mr. Skyler said. "Obviously, that's a relative term. Over the last few weeks a team of agencies coordinated by the Officer of Emergency Management, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Buildings has been working with our partners at the LMDC and the Federal Government to make sure the building is safe for firefighters."