by Ari Paul
Fire and worker-safety protocols in the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan, where two Firefighters were killed in a fire last August, have been dramatically overhauled, officials from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the primary contractors said during a public hearing July 1 at the LMDC's headquarters.
9/11 Fallout
The building was heavily damaged during 9/11, and outrage accompanied the two deaths once it was discovered that workers on the site violated the Fire and Building Codes by blocking exits and cutting the standpipe. John Galt, one of the subcontractors on the site whose integrity was questioned by residents and advocates, is no longer at work there.
Ray Master, the main safety officer at the site for Bovis Lend Lease, the company in charge of the demolition, said he spends at least one hour one-on-one with each new worker in order to evaluate whether he or she will do a safe job.
"We put a lot of effort toward the culture of the project," he said. "We believe it is one that encourages safe work."
FDNY Must Okay 'Hot Work'
Mr. Master explained that no "hot work" such as welding or cutting could be done on the site without Fire Department approval and that no flammable gas or combustible materials could be left on the floors. There are now 11 fire extinguishers on each floor and the standpipe is inspected six times per day. Bovis has also hired fire-safety patrollers, and the FDNY keeps two Chiefs at the site.
The State Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office are still investigating the fire. Firefighter unions have faulted the FDNY for failing to regularly inspect the site before the fire. Some firefighter advocates at last week's meeting believed there were still unanswered questions.
"Who knew about what when?" Uniformed Firefighters Association Health and Safety Officer William Romaka asked rhetorically. "Did I really expect them to answer it? They're not going to answer something like that anyway. I think it's hard to be satisfied when there are always going to be open-ended questions."
'A Lot More Vigilant Now'
Glenn Corbett, an Associate Professor of Fire Science at John Jay College, said he saw improvements in the way fire safety was handled at the site, but added that the measures Bovis had implemented should have been there before the fatal fire.
"I'm pleased to hear that there was significant change made as far as the combustibility of the containment protocols that they put in the place," he said. "It seems like the Fire Department is a lot more vigilant over this building."
Twenty-six floors are still standing at the Deutsche Bank building, with full decontamination completely down to the 20th floor. Floors 12 though 19 are currently being abated. Before the August fire, the building had been scheduled to be demolished by December, but the overhauls in protocol have delayed completion of the demolition indefinitely.
"This is the part you don't want to hear," said Roy Johnson of LVI Services, the company responsible for decontaminating the building. "Our initial schedule kind of went out the window. We are reluctant to commit to a deadline or a timeline."
Outside the LMDC's headquarters before the meeting, Public Employees Federation rep Paul Stein performed a song on his accordion that he wrote before the August fire when advocates were complaining that the demolition process was being significantly delayed. Mr. Stein said last week that the lyrics were still timely.
"Pataki, Spitzer, Bloomberg, Bovis Lend Lease and John Galt," he sang, "These politicians, corporations, they are all at fault. Again I'll explain, it's really a shame that Deutsche Bank is still a standing hell."
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