NY Daily News

Months before the Deutsche Bank inferno killed two firefighters, inspectors knew there was a blatant disregard for even the most basic fire-safety rules, a Daily News probe has found.

A review of thousands of internal documents exposes how careless hardhats at the downtown site regularly sent sparks flying, started small fires and ignored repeated warnings to stop.

Inspectors hired to look for safety failings warned a dozen times that John Galt, the company decontaminating and demolishing the tower, did not have enough safety managers to watch for blowtorch sparks.

They also reported that six small fires were put out without Fire Department notification.

"Burning details are being manned by only one fireguard. Demo foreman has been strongly advised of the need for an additional fireguard or perhaps two," an inspector wrote July 25.

Two weeks later, another report said, "At 2:47 pm S/W side column had a fire. No fire watchman or fire extinguisher on the floor."

And then tragedy struck.

A year ago Monday, investigators theorize, a worker carelessly chucked a lit cigarette, igniting the blaze that claimed the lives of Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino Jr. and Robert Beddia.

When inspectors and FDNY investigators walked back though the building nine days later, they made a shocking find in a sixth-floor room.

"Many cigarette butts were found along with a Weber black small BBQ," one wrote.

"Someone was barbecuing?" Graffagnino's outraged widow, Linda, said last week when told by The News of the finding.

"I'm not surprised. That stuff really makes me angry. How could that be allowed?" she asked.

She may soon get some answers. An internal FDNY probe is expected to be highly critical of the department's inspection failures and handling of the blaze. A grand jury investigating the blaze is expected to issue indictments next month.

The inspectors who cited trouble before the blaze worked for a subcontractor, Site Safety LLC, and were hired by URS, the company managing the Deutsche project and working with Galt.

The two companies reported to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the state agency in charge of rebuilding downtown. Site Safety and URS declined to comment, and John Galt could not be reached.

Michael Murphy, spokesman for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which owns the site, could not say whether Site Safety's reports were reviewed by the state agency.

Murphy insists close attention was paid to fire safety — and that the regular mention of problems shows how carefully inspectors were monitoring work.

"The issue of fire watch and reviewing the fire watch was extremely important, as were any other safety issues," he said. "They served as one component of a system in which job-site issues were monitored and corrective action taken as necessary."

Other city, state and federal inspectors regularly trolled the site, yet none stopped the practices that led to the fatal blaze.

The city has since revamped construction rules to require better inspections, and is seeking authority to enforce building codes in state-owned property like the former Deutsche Bank building.

The Fire Department, which failed to inspect the tower every 15 days as required by law, now says it meets the 15-day target on 93% of buildings.

"It was the perfect storm last year: a contaminated building being taken down by a shady company, and our guys weren't doing the inspections," one FDNY source said.

A key question is who cut a 40-foot length of standpipe from the basement, leaving Graffagnino and Beddia stranded without water in the mazelike building.

In hundreds of daily reports, inspectors noted changes to standpipe connections, and twice said the standpipe was too far below the level where workers were dismantling columns.

The basement standpipe, though, was barely mentioned.

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy wants the FDNY to add a new rule that firefighters must be advised of water conditions during a blaze.

"When there is a firefighter hurt or killed, a lack of water is often the issue," Cassidy said. "What we're asking here doesn't cost a penny, but it could save lives."

All work at the Deutsche building will cease today in memory of Graffagnino and Beddia, who will be honored by Mayor Bloomberg at a 10 a.m. ceremony.

Plaques in the men's honor will be unveiled at their SoHo firehouse, Engine 24/Ladder 5, at Houston St. and Sixth Ave.

The LMDC hopes to finish removing asbestos and other dangerous materials from the building by the end of the year and have the structure removed by next summer.

With Erin Durkin They died in a fire that was always a risk to happen

Safety inspectors working for the LMDC's construction manager were alarmed at lapses in fire safety at the Deutsche Bank demolition site.

Yet the careless behavior of hardhats is believed to have sparked the blaze that tragically killed two of New York's Bravest.

Here are excerpts from reports filed before the deadly Aug. 18, 2007, inferno:

5/11/07: "No fireguard spotted during burning activity on the 36th Fl. west side."

6/25/07: "Russell from Bovis was on 29th Floor when a small fire ... was noticed. He used the fire extinguisher to put it out."

6/26/07: "Torch operator on 28 cutting off small beams and fireguards were in place on 28, no fireguard on 27 or 26. Small fire on ceiling of 26 was put out by roofers. I called Eric the demo supervisor and explained to him again that any floors below demolition that sparks fall MUST have a fireguard present at all times." 7/25/07: "A small fire from sparks from the roof started on S/E side column of 22nd floor. I told Eric from J Galt the need for more than one fireguard."

7/26/07: "Demo foreman was advised to halt burning activity within 10 ft. of fuel cans on 29th Fl. ... On the 22nd floor a small fire started around 8:45 a.m. I informed John Galt and Larry and Tally from Bovis they need another fireguard."

8/10/07: "At 2:47 p.m. S/W side column had a fire. No fire watchman or fire extinguisher on the floor."

And after the 8/18/07 fire:

8/27/07: "On the 6th floor N/W room 13 pallets of batteries and 19 drums. Many cigarette butts were found along with a Weber black small BBQ at 11:30 a.m. Someone was walking on the floor with shorts, sandals and no respirator. He gave the finger to Amy Wilson from OSHA."