Aug 19, 2007 10:24 am US/Eastern
Deutsche Bank Building Blaze Kills 2 Firefighters
By Dave Carlin, CBS 2 News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The vacant Deutsche Bank skyscraper burns in Lower Manhattan opposite Ground Zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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New York Fire Department vehicles pack the streets near the vacant Deutsche Bank skyscraper as it burned in Lower Manhattan opposite Ground Zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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The Deustche Bank building that was damaged during the 9/11 attacks caught fire on Aug. 18, 2007.
CBS
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces the deaths of two firefighters killed battling a seven-alarm fire at the former Deutsche Bank skyscraper near ground zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
CBS
For the second time in two months the FDNY is in mourning. Two veteran firefighters died Saturday. Both were overcome by smoke while fighting a massive fire in the former Deutsche Bank building.
It was the painful duty of Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta to put up memorial bunting for the fallen firefighters inside a firehouse that has been dealt far too much death -- 11 firefighters on 9/11 and now two more.
"That house being hit again makes it all the more devastating," said Scopetta.
New York mourns the loss of 34-year-old Joseph Graffanino of Brooklyn. Graffanino had 8-years of experience with the FDNY. The other fallen firefighter is 54-years-old, with 23 years of service. His name is being withheld until his family is notified.
At a press conference announcing their deaths, Mayor Bloomberg remembered them as two people "dedicated to helping this city and tonight we grieve for them."
The two firefighters were inside the abandoned Deutsche Bank building, which was coming down floor by floor. Before the fire broke out asbestos abatement was underway. How the blaze started is unknown, but maze like conditions, cardboard for packing, and a standpipe that apparently did not work may have created a recipe for fiery tragedy.
"Because of all the demolition work, there were a lot of flammable things there," said Bloomberg.
The two firefighters were on the 14th floor while working the hose line. Maydays were given, then in a flash they were the victims of smoke inhalation severe enough to bring on fatal heart attacks.
"The carbon monoxide in their lungs was at such an elevated level, it was not surprising that they went into cardiac arrest," said Bloomberg.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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