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(Listen to former FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen with regard to the ability of the local firehouse to enter the toxic death-trap known as the Deutsche Bank Building by Clicking Here. Its an MP3 File.)

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Follow the trail of evidence and see to whom it leads :

 Prior to Sept 14, 2004:   LMDC notified the "bosses" at FDNY - those above the local firehouse -  about the decontamination  - deconstruction process. and 
Kate Mellia of LMDC delivers to the Ten House materials telling the local firehouse, the Ten House, that the Deutsche Bank Building was über contaminated.

December 4 2004:  The Captain of 10 Ladder, fearful of and wanting to protect himself and his fellow firefighters from the toxins within the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building, sends a request up the chain of command for a Standard Operating Proceedure (S.O.P.) to tell them how to handle FDNY operations within the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building. 

For a copy of the December 4, 2004 request for an S.O.P. from the Ten House, Click Here.

January 15 2005:  The original report.  It is not yet available. It is mentioned in the 3/25/2007 Siegel Memorandum. When a copy of the 1/15/2005 original report becomes available, it will be posted here and available by clicking here.

February 21, 2005:  The follow-up report.  It is not yet available. It is mentioned in the 3/25/2007 Siegel Memorandum  When a copy of the 2/21/2005 follow-up report becomes available, it will be posted here and available by clicking here. 

March 22, 2005:  B.C. William Siegel issues a memorandum as part of the process of trying to figure out how to handle FDNY operations in the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building.

April 6, 2005  Representatives from Manhattan Borough Command, Division 1, Battalion 1, Engine 10 and Ladder 10 participate in a visit to the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building coordinated by FDNY Operations Planning and Strategy Unit.  See item #12 on News from the Blue Room, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , PR- 308-07, August 22, 2007, UPDATE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE FIRE AT 130 LIBERTY STREET  FDNY's Operations, Planning and Strategy unit is above the rank of Captain. It is above the rank of Battalion Chief.  It is above the rank of Division Chief. So, too, is Manhattan Borough Command.

Between April 6 2005 when the FDNY's Operations, Planning and Strategy unit coordinated a site inspection of the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building and August 2007 when the FDNY finally issued the S.O.P. for the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building, the trail of evidence falls off a cliff.  It is an evidentary black hole.  The events took place within the inner sanctum of FDNY Commissioner Scoppetta and his cronies, within their cone of silence. (Perhaps Deep Throat can provide us with some insight on these high level FDNY decisions?) Because the 3/22/2005 Siegel Memorandum is addressed to Division 1 Commander Richard Fuerch, some may assume that he was the end of the line.  This assumption is a mistake.  Chief Fuerch is an honorable firefighter and an extremely intelligent man.  How to handle FDNY operations in the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building went above him to the top of the hierarchy of FDNY.  Decisions were made above Chief Fuerch. Recall what Chief Fuerch told Steve Dunleavy of the New York Post on Sept 3, 2007:

"We'll cooperate, and then a lot more will come out in the wash,"

In the same NY Post Article,  Battalion Chief John McDonald was quoted as saying: 

"There was black mold . . . asbestos, mercury, concrete dust and heavy metal dust in that building," McDonald said.

Yet, there are people who have never been in a blaze accusing McDonald and two other brave fire officials of not following normal procedures.

Said Chief McDonald: "This was not a normal building, a normal site. And it is [the Environmental Protection Agency] that is literally in charge of abatement in that building. I don't know what the heck is going to happen, but always foremost in my mind is to look after my men."

 Firefighters at the Ten House receive orders not to go into the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building,  See

•  "We were told: Don't go into that moldy hell" by Steve Dunleavy of the New York Post
• NY1 Exclusive: Former Firefighter Says FDNY Knew Dangers Of Deutsche Bank Building
• NY1 Community To Face Off With Deutsche Bank Contractor At Hearing
• AP in Newsday.com Life at ground zero firehouse included worries about toxic tower
  

March 31, 2006:   The final FDNY inspection of the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building. See item #18 on News from the Blue Room, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , PR- 308-07, August 22, 2007, UPDATE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE FIRE AT 130 LIBERTY STREET 

Late December 2006 Early January 2007:  Captain Peter Bosco arrives at Engine 10 of the Ten House.  He inherits a policy of non-inspection of the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building. He does not originate it.  Given the circumstances that existed on his arrival, any Captain would have done the same things as Captain Peter Bosco.   It would make sense not to enter the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building given that the Ten House lacked the ability to safely enter it  This is why on the headquarters page of this website is posted the comment, "130 Liberty Street: a complex trap for honest firefighters and an honest fire department .  If every honest, dedicated and law-abiding fire captain would have done the same as Captain Peter Bosco did by protecting his firefighters and himself from the toxins within the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building, then there is something wrong about blaming Captain Peter Bosco. Not supplied with the means to safely inspect, no Fire Captain would march their men into the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building hoping that holding their breath would protect them from the toxins.

 
August 18, 2007    The fatal fire at the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building.

August 23 2007  FDNY belatedly issues the S.O.P. that had been requested by the Ten House in December of 2004.  It took 2 years 8 months. 

 For a copy of the August 23, 2007 S.O.P. instructing firefighters how to handle FDNY operations in the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building  please click here.

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It took 2 years and 8 months for FDNY to respond to the Ten House's call for help in figuring out an S.O.P. to handle FDNY operations within the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building.  If you start counting from when the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building became contaminated on 9/11/2001, it is six (6) years. FDNY did not issue the S.O.P. until August 23, 2007.

Keep in mind that Captains of Engine companies do not issue S.O.P.s.  It is a job for those above the rank of Captain, above the rank of Battalion Chief, and above the rank of Division Chief.  S.O.P.s are only issued with the approval of those at the very top of FDNY. The answers are in the hands of Scoppetta and his cronies.  For what transpired between April 6 2005 when the FDNY's Operations, Planning and Strategy unit coordinated a site inspection of the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building and August 23, 2007 when the FDNY finally issued the S.O.P. for the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building, ask Scoppetta and his cronies.

In summary: A plea for help went up the chain of command from the Ten House.  2 years and 8 months later FDNY answered it. In the interim, a policy of non-inspection developed to safeguard the health and well-being of the members of the Ten House. 

What conclusion do the opinion makers of the City of New York reach when they come to an understanding of FDNY's elephantine delay in answering the Ten House's plea for help in figuring out how to handle FDNY operations in  the über contaminated Deutsche Bank Building,?  One conclusion can be found by clicking here.