Aug 31, 2007 7:02 pm US/Eastern
Bloomberg And Firefighters' Union Trade Blame
Union Calls For Cassano To Be Held Responsible
by Marcia Kramer
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The vacant Deutsche Bank building near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
Gregg Geller
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The Deutsche Bank skyscraper burns on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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New York Fire Department vehicles pack the streets near the Deutsche Bank skyscraper as it burned in Lower Manhattan on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the people directly responsible for the Deutsche Bank tragedy have been removed, but the Uniformed Firefighters' Association disagrees.
Two of the three people removed from their commands in the Deutsche Bank tragedy were Captain Peter Bosco of Engine 10 and Battalion Chief John McDonald. CBS 2 has learned that less than a week before Bosco and McDonald got the ax, they were two highly regarded firefighters, who were given the sensitive and all-important task of developing a plan to fight a fire at Fitterman Hall, the other toxic eyesore at Ground Zero.
This came to light after CBS 2 obtained copies of newly developed plans to fight fires at the Deutsche bank building, Fitterman Hall at 130 Cedar St. and 30 W. Broadway. The plan for the Deutsch Bank building demands special units for fighting high-rise fires and a hazardous materials unit.
But the discoveries at Fitterman Hall indicate it is a very dangerous building too. At present the problems firefighters face there include an out of service sprinkler system, no working fire alarm system, and the standpipe system recently failed a test because a pipe is cracked in the basement.
Bloomberg questioned why numerous fire officials who spent weeks at the Deutsche Bank building failed to report its hazardous conditions. The hazards contributed to the blaze this month that killed two firefighters.
"They (unnamed battalion chiefs) saw that stairways were sealed," said an angry Mayor Bloomberg. And "didn't say something about it."
Union officials meanwhile, are furious that men were removed from their commands. "There is clearly a cover-up going on at the top of the FDNY," said Uniformed Firefighters' Association President Steve Cassidy.
The union claims Chief of Department Sal Cassano, who has been by Mayor Bloomberg's side throughout the Deutsche Bank tragedy should bear responsibility for the missteps by the department.
Cassidy is furious that Cassano "hasn't even been interviewed by the yet by the FDNY. Firefighters and the public need to know what he knew, when he knew it, and why he did nothing."
Meanwhile, the fire department tested a newly rebuilt standpipe at the Deutsche Bank building Friday, but the tests apparently failed.
A fire department spokesman said more work needs to be done. Without the standpipe to help get water to the fire, firefighters will have to run hoses from hydrants on the street if another fire breaks out.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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