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Aug 24, 2007 3:44 am US/Eastern
Friday Funeral For 2nd Fallen Firefighter
FDNY Veteran Killed in Deutsche Bank Building Fire
Thursday Accident Hurts More Firefighters
by Tamsen Fadal
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Robert Beddia's funeral was scheduled Friday morning at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
AP
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Police and emergency services were called to the abandoned Deutsche Bank building once again on Aug. 23 after two firefighters were badly injured when debris fell from the building and crashed to the street.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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The incident follows the deaths of two firefighters who were battling a blaze at the building on Aug. 18.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
Friday is the final farewell for the second of New York's bravest who lost his life in the abandoned Deutsche Bank Building at Ground Zero. The service for firefighter Robert Beddia begins at 9:45 at Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
After 23 years as a New York City firefighter, Beddia had been eligible to retire for some time. But he still relished the job and his role as an example to younger firefighters, his family and fellow firefighters say.
He made a point of taking FDNY newcomers under his wing, and his enthusiasm for the demanding and often dangerous work never wavered, colleagues and relatives said.
Working out of a Greenwich Village firehouse that lost 11 members on Sept. 11, "Beddia was a true leader in the department who stayed around after the tragedies Engine 24 and Ladder 5 have suffered over the years," retired FDNY Special Operations Chief John Norman told the Staten Island Advance. "Knowing we had a senior man like him working in there made us feel safe."
The Deutsche Bank site has left New York City feeling unsafe after another accident at the bank building left two firefighters injured on Thursday.
New York City firefighters were escorting workers from the fired contracting company as they removed their equipment from the Deutsche Bank site. Suddenly a piece of that equipment came crashing down from the elevator 23 stories onto a sidewalk shed below where it collapsed on two men from Engine 258.
"It shocks me and in fact it's actually really appalling considering the amount of work, the amount of time and the amount of love that these people give to this city," said Virginia Beaepa.
The two injured firefighters were taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, but their injuries have been deemed non-life threatening. One reportedly has just a minor injury, the other a head injury which required multiple stitches.
Some of the firefighters who came rushing to the hospital were still dressed for the funeral of Joseph Graffagnino, who was killed at the Deutsche Bank tower on Saturday.
Without a word to reporters, Mayor Bloomberg visited with firefighter Neil Nally and the family of the more serious injured William Corbetis.
But the mayor did speak earlier at the funeral of fallen firefighter Graffagnino, who would have turned 34 this past Monday. His mother was honored that firefighters from across the country to pay their respects.
"Joey's always wanted a brother," she said. "Who would've thought 20 years down the road he would have thousands?"
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
