The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 17

While the LMDC is positioning a safety officer at the Deutsche Bank building to prevent a repeat of a deadly fire that killed two firefighters and several other accidents that left several hurt, the families of the two firefighters, Richard Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino have filed suit against the LMDC, Bovis Lend Lease, and several other parties:

The lawsuit accuses the main subcontractor, The John Galt Corporation, of allowing its workers to smoke, and other contractors, including Bovis Lend Lease and URS Inc., of failing to remove fire hazards and give firefighters floor plans or other information to help them safely fight the blaze.

The lawsuit also named the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, a state-city agency that oversaw demolition of the building, which had been damaged on Sept. 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center collapsed into it.

A spokesman for the agencies declined comment Wednesday.

Bovis, the main contractor still on the job, doesn't comment on pending litigation, spokeswoman Mary Costello said. A spokeswoman for Galt, which was fired from the job a week after the fire, declined comment. An e-mail to URS wasn't immediately returned.

Delays in the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building will mean delays elsewhere at Ground Zero since the site is crucial to accessing the rest of the site as the construction of 2, 3, and 4 WTC get underway.