What a sad story to begin a Sunday with.  A fast-moving fire barreling through Manhattan’s eyesore known as the Deutsche Bank building has taken the lives of two more firefighters.  For the best compilation of this ongoing news event, I trust you’re checking in with STATter911.  Newsman Dave is keeping up with the story as it happens HERE.

But the story I’d like to see the New Yorkers follow up on is why the conditions were allowed to exist that permitted, even encouraged, this fire to reach such large proportions.  The early reports are saying that the building standpipes were inoperable.  Why?  They were there.  Why weren’t they maintained?  When were they last inspected?  How often did the Fire Marshal check them and insist on their being available for fire duty?

The building was being hand-demolished floor by floor and was loaded with tons of plywood and miles of plastic sheeting.  Things that would contribute to a rapid fire spread amongst all the construction debris.  Common sense and a modern fire code would have required standpipe hose packs on each floor where work was taking place.  Why weren’t there any here? 

A work project of this magnitude requires frequent code enforcement visits to insure that fire safety is being followed.  Considering the past work record of this crew, including the dropping of a large pipe 35 stories through the roof of the next-door firehouse, I would expect daily visits from the fire marshal.  In fact, there should have been a City code-enforcement officer on site at all times.  How often did the fire marshal office inspect the job site?  Judging from the results of yesterday, I would say “not very often.”

While Mayor Bloomberg is strutting around town flapping his wings about cooking oil and tobacco smoke, his own city’s enforcement crew was taking a smoke break behind the fast-food joint around the corner.  Shame!

Now let’s get the equipment checked out.  I’ll see you at the coffee table.

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