Over 'Deutsche' Death
Fireman's Family Sues LMDC

By ARI PAUL

The family of Robert Beddia, one of the two Firefighters killed in last August's Deutsche Bank Building fire, filed a lawsuit Feb. 13 against several public agencies and private companies working on the building's demolition.

ROBERT BEDDIA: A victim of negligence?

The suit claims that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, Bovis Lend Lease, the John Galt Corporation and other agencies and businesses acted irresponsibly in overseeing the demolition of the Deutsche Bank Building. Various building and fire code violations led to conditions that caused Mr. Beddia's death, in addition to Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino, the suit claims.

'Ran Into Black Smoke'

Michael Barasch, one of the attorneys for the Beddia family, inspected the Deutsche Bank Building in November with a group of other lawyers and insurance investigators. He recalled seeing the broken standpipe, which left firefighters no access to water during the fire, and the letters "R-I-P" written in red paint on the 15th floor.

'DEBRIS EVERYWHERE': Attorney Michael Barasch inspects the ruins of the Deutsche Bank Building, where two Firefighters were killed in the line of duty Aug. 18. Mr. Barasch represents the family of the late Robert Beddia, and filed a lawsuit against the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and private contractors.

"There's debris everywhere," he said, adding that plastic sheeting in the building trapping the smoke in the building. "So it was just thick black smoke that these guys were running into. The amazing thing to me is that only two people were killed."

The suit alleged that the contractors at the Deutsche Bank Building allowed workers to smoke at the site and they created illegal impediments to escaping from a fire in the building.

Failed to Inspect

In addition to violations at the site, the Fire Department did not inspect the building for more than a year before the fire when it was mandated to do so every 15 days. In addition, fire union leaders have said that Battalion Chief William Siegel unsuccessfully called for the department to implement a special fire plan for the building on three separate occasions. Questions have also been raised about the Buildings Department's oversight of the building's deconstruction.

The Manhattan District Attorney and the Attorney General have ongoing investigations into the fire. In response to the probes, the city announced in September that it retained an outside counsel, Gary P. Naftalis, a well-regarded criminal lawyer who is a partner at Kramer, Levin, Naftalis and Frankel.

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy has charged that the Fire Department as been uncooperative with these investigations. FDNY officials have denied these claims.

Joining Mr. Barasch's firm in the case is the firm Crowell and Moring.

While the lawsuit does not name the Bloomberg administration, Mr. Barasch said that it was still possible his firm would add it to the list of defendants. The main purpose of the lawsuit, he said, was to force the agencies and businesses who oversaw the building's demolition to disclose evidence.