Deutsche Bank Fire Investigators Continue Grim Work

The Deutsche Bank building deconstruction has been a long and painful process from the moment the World Trade Center was attacked by Islamic terrorists on 9/11. It took time to determine whether the building was structurally sound and while the building would be able to stand despite the serious damage, it was quickly discovered that the building was compromised by contamination from debris falling from the collapsing towers plus mold that had infested deep inside the building.

After years of haggling and trying to come to terms over what to do, the City, State, LMDC, PANY, and insurance companies were finally able to deal on Deutsche Bank last year, which set in motion the deconstruction. The deconstruction process was repeatedly delayed because of air quality concerns (necessitating all the additional plywood and plastic sheeting for controlling emissions from the building) and the discovery of hundreds of human remains despite claims that the building was indeed cleared of remains by law enforcement and the medical examiner's office.

The fire that started on Saturday killed two firefighters, and their funerals were scheduled for later this week:

Joe Graffagnino
Wake today and tomorrow, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m and 7p.m. to 10 p.m. at Andrew Torregrossa and Sons Funeral Home, 1305 79th St., Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Funeral Mass Thursday 10a.m. at St. Ephrem's Church, 935 Bay Ridge Parkway.

Robert Beddia
Wake tomorrow and Thursday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Harmon Funeral Home, 571 Forest Ave., S.I. Funeral Mass Friday 9:45 a.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral, 460 Madison Ave.

Investigators are looking at the standpipes that feed water into the building to fight fires. They've apparently found numerous problems with the standpipes, including a valve that wouldn't work in the basement, and even if firefighters had managed to get that valve working, broken pipes within the building would have prevented its use.

Investigators have found that a standpipe valve between the basement and the first floor of the former Deutsche Bank building was shut, effectively cutting off the only source of water for firefighters battling last Saturday’s blaze on the upper floors of the high-rise, according to fire officials.

But even if the valve had been open, water would never have reached it because the network of pipes that is supposed to deliver water from fire trucks on the street to the standpipe system was also compromised, with several breaks in it, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Fire officials said a piece of the standpipe system was missing altogether. The piece was found next to the pipe.

Gothamist has more.

The contractors on the job, Bovis Lend Lease, and its subcontractor, John Galt, could face criminally negligent homicide charges as a result of the fire and all the problems with the building.

If you think the situation with the Deutsche Bank is bad - and it truly is tragic, consider that CUNY's Fiterman Hall remains just as it was shortly after 9/11 - badly damaged from the collapse of 7WTC and in need of demolition while no action has been taken to do so. At least they had begun the process of demolishing Deutsche Bank - they had taken the 40 story building down to 26 floors and were able to demolish one floor every four days.

They may still be able to finish the demolition by the end of the year, but they better figure out why the standpipes were not functioning and why deconstruction was able to continue despite that fact. Work on the building has been halted while investigators try to piece together what happened and why the standpipes were not functional.

UPDATE:
The Post's editorial page slams the FDNY, city and state officials, and the contractors for the mess at Deutsche Bank. They want to know why firefighters were sent into the building with inadequate water supplies.

UPDATE:
There is finally some action on Fiterman Hall demolition. The building will finally be razed to make way for a new CUNY building to be designed by IM Pei's architectural firm.

Located adjacent to 7 WTC, the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s 15-story academic building was partially destroyed on 9/11 and contaminated by mold and debris from the twin towers. The college has retained the architectural firm of Pei, Cobb & Freed to design a new 400,000-square-foot building, which will house classrooms, faculty offices, a café, art gallery, computer labs, and student lounge space.

Following two years of insurance claims negotiation, the construction manager selected to clean and deconstruct Fiterman Hall submitted scaffolding and revised remediation plans to the EPA in January. Since then, a new sidewalk bridge has been installed and air monitors are being placed in advance of the pending remediation and deconstruction of the Fiterman Hall, which should begin in August 2007. Once the EPA approves project plans, the multi-stage cleaning and deconstruction plan will commence. This is expected to last 10 to 12 months. First, the construction manager will replace the existing post-9/11 scaffolding and netting, retest the building’s exterior for contaminants, and re-clean where necessary. Next the building’s interior will be sealed off, cleaned and emptied in three-floor segments, followed by cleaning of the roof.

I hope that the Fiterman demolition team learns from what happened with the Deutsche Bank building and makes safety a priority and ensures that fire suppression systems are fully operable throughout the demolition process.