by PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The oppressive heat of the packed firehouse in Greenwich Village seemed appropriate for the heavy hearts inside, as more than 100 people gathered to mark the anniversary of a deadly Manhattan skyscraper blaze that killed two New York City firefighters, one of them a son of Staten Island.
But even as the families of firefighters Robert Beddia, 53, of South Beach, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, stood with city officials as they dedicated plaques to the fallen heroes of Ladder Co. 5, they seemed both honored and reluctant.
Because one year after their loved ones perished in the toxic death trap of the former Deutsche Bank building, a Manhattan grand jury is still deciding whether those officials may be ultimately responsible for the deaths, and whether they should be criminally charged.
Joseph Graffagnino's father, who has been an outspoken advocate of city safety reforms since his son's death, believes that once it's determined who is responsible, the issue should be very clear.
"I think they should be tried for murder," Joseph Graffagnino Sr. said. "If they know that these people did this deliberately, then I think they should be held accountable for whatever crimes they are. My point of view would be it would be murder."
WRONGFUL-DEATH SUITS
Both the Graffagnino and Beddia families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the city and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which are on hold until the grand jury probe is complete. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta -- both of whom spoke at yesterday's memorial -- were named as defendants in the lawsuits.
Scoppetta said he would be surprised if the city ever faced criminal charges, pointing out that it hasn't happened in a decade.
"Let's just wait until the investigation comes out and we get some official findings," he said.
Bloomberg said he believed it was a case of negligence, and questioned whether criminal charges would be appropriate.
"I can tell you in my heart of hearts, I don't believe anybody deliberately did anything to make that building less safe," he said afterwards, at the opening of a charter school in the Bronx. "Were they derelict in their duty? Only time will tell. In retrospect, obviously one could have done more."
The building, fatally compromised in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was undergoing demolition at the time of the Aug. 18, 2007, blaze, which went to seven alarms. The 41-story tower, which had been demolished to 26 floors, had an inoperable standpipe that did not deliver water to the firefighters, and had not been inspected for five months -- despite a requirement that it be inspected every 15 days during demolition.
Beddia and Graffagnino died on the building's 14th floor when their oxygen supply ran out.
Fire marshals later determined a carelessly discarded cigarette started the fire.
During yesterday's ceremony honoring the firefighters, Bloomberg reminded the assembly of the changes the city has made since to make demolition sites and construction sites safer. The Deutsche Bank building now has a working standpipe and a negative air pressure system, which pulls air in and keeps toxins from escaping. A fire chief is permanently assigned to the site.
Contractors hope to complete the demolition by next summer, but Bloomberg cautioned the city will not "compromise safety for speed."
"For both Joe and for Bobby, we will try to make this city better, we will try to make this Fire Department better, we will try to do everything we can to keep tragedies like this from happening," Bloomberg said. "But, sadly, we all know we are going to be, sometime in the future, at another plaque dedication. Let's just pray it's a long time from now," the mayor added.
Later, after the bronze plaques were unveiled, he put his arm around the shoulder of Joseph Graffagnino's widow, Linda, as she wiped tears from her eyes.
BOW THEIR HEADS
Beddia's teary-eyed brother and sister also stood next to the fire commissioner, bowing their heads as a pipe and drum band played "Amazing Grace."
The Beddia family declined to speak to reporters afterwards.
Joseph Graffagnino's father, standing in the middle of a group of reporters, called his grief an "open wound that never closes."
Each day, the grief-stricken dad battles to focus that pain into energy to promote positive changes in the city.
"It's bittersweet. Probably, my son did the right thing in doing his job. Could it have been prevented? I think so."
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