UFA Head Asks For Frequent Updates On Water Status at Fires
By ARI PAUL
Days before the anniversary of the fatal Deutsche Bank building fire, Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy called on the Fire Department to make a communication change he believed would improve job safety.

STEVE CASSIDY: 'Don't leave us in dark.'

"We request that the Dispatcher be required to call the [Incident Commander] every five minutes requesting a water status update until an attack on the fire has begun," he said in an Aug. 12 letter to Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. "Once prompted, the IC will then update via hand-talkie all members operating on the fire ground of the current water status, i.e., 'Five minutes, no water.'''

Uncertainty Adds to Danger

Mr. Cassidy explained that because of the lack of such communication, firefighters do not know how long it will take before they will have access to water, often putting them in dangerous situations for longer than they should be there.

Two Firefighters, Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia, were killed during a fire at the Deutsche Bank building near the World Trade Center site Aug. 18 of last year. Firefighters were initially unable to establish a water connection because the standpipe in the building had been illegally severed.

Mr. Cassidy called the proposal a "simple change" that would not significant alter current department firefighting tactics.

"This critical piece of information will alert firefighters who are operating in dangerous or potentially dangerous areas of the water status at a particular point in time," he said.

The FDNY is still reviewing Mr. Cassidy's suggestion, a department spokesman said.