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Fire Breaks Out at Deutsche Bank Building

NEW YORK CITY-The seven-alarm blaze killed two firefighters Saturday. Early reports uncover no threat of building collapse or air contamination.

By Natalie Dolce | Updated on August 19, 2007

NEW YORK CITY-The Deutsche Bank building, located at 130 Liberty St. and abandoned since the Sept. 11 attacks, caught fire on Saturday afternoon and killed two firefighters. The cause of the fire was unknown, according to various published reports. The firefighters are Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn and Robert Beddia, 53, of Staten Island. Officials are now focusing on a possible stand pipe malfunction to blame for the amount of time it took to maintain the fire, according to new published reports.

The reports say that the stand-pipe system, which maintained by the subcontractor in charge of demolition, is the only mechanism in place to get water to the Deutsche Bank building in an emergency, wasn’t working on Saturday. Firefighters could not get water up past the fifth floor. Although the investigation continues, officials currently believe that a broken valve may be the cause of the malfunction. The reports also state that as a result of the stand pipe malfunction, firefighters used extra time to haul the hoses up the side of the building.

According to the reports, more than two hours after the seven-alarm fire was reported Saturday afternoon, officers at the scene immediately said the building was in danger of collapsing; however at a press conference Saturday night, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the building was “structurally sound” and not in danger of falling. There were no evacuations of adjacent buildings, the mayor also said.

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