New York Post, Editorial, 9 November 2007
On Friday, November 9, 2007, the New York Post once again called for the removal of FDNY Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Click Here or see below). FreePetey would have articulated a different basis for the same conclusion. In his haste to meekly submit to Mayor 'the bloom is off the berg' Bloomberg's sinister attempt to frame scapegoats in lieu of the real culprits from amongst the Mayor's beloved tea & crumpet cronies (Click Here), Scoppetta not only cravenly sacrificed three diligent and decorated fire officers but he also sacrificed, betrayed and tarnished the reputation of the entire FDNY. Suppose Scoppetta had either the balls or the brains to have handled the aftermath of the tragic August 18, 2007 fire in another manner instead of in the craven manner in which it was handled. Suppose Scoppetta had said:
We are saddened by the loss of two brave firefighters. However, there are those who are trying to blame FDNY for their loss. This is absurd. There were nine (9) officially designated regulators of the deconstruction - decontamination of the Deutsche Bank Building. FDNY was not, I repeat, was not one of them (Click Here). The U.S. EPA, U.S. OSHA, NYS DOL, NYS DOH, NYS DEC, NYC DEP, NYC DOH, NYC DOS, NYC DOB were all officially involved in the project as officially designated regulators. Not FDNY (Click Here). FDNY would have been the tenth, yes, that's right, the tenth regulator, with a pair of eyes on this project if it had been invited. Nine pair of regulatory eyes ought to have been sufficient so that a tenth should not have been needed. Moreover, 130 Liberty Street is a State owned building. FDNY has no jurisdiction over State owned Buildings unless invited and, when invited, we can only make recommendation but not enforce either the building or the fire codes (Click Here) Because FDNY was not invited to be a regulator of this project and because FDNY does not have jurisdiction over State Buildings, FDNY did not take those necessary steps that we would need to have taken in order to accomplish such a mission. FDNY did not train Ten Engine on how to inspect the toxic Deutsche Bank Building as required by the NYS DOL by PESH; FDNY did not equip Ten Engine with Haz-Mat suits in order to safely inspect the toxic Deutsche Bank Building; FDNY did not supply them decontamination equipment (Click Here); FDNY did not assign its Haz-Mat unit to the project. FDNY took none of the preliminary steps that were needed to be taken in order to protect the health and welfare of our firefighters. FDNY did not do so because FDNY was not invited to be involved in this project. This was not an FDNY project. FDNY would have been more than happy to have helped out as a Regulator. But, FDNY was not asked. FDNY did not set this fire; others did. FDNY has limited resources. We cannot prevent every fire. Our main job is to put fires out after they start. There were many, many other government agencies and private contractors who were in the position to have prevented this fire. FDNY was not invited into this toxic State owned building as a Fire Prevention Regulator. If we had been invited, FDNY would have committed the resources to do the job right. Please. I am personally insulted when I hear that there are those who wish to blame my Department and my firefighters for this tragedy. We have lost two firefighters. How dare you try to blame other firefighters for their deaths.
If Scoppetta only had the balls or brains to make that speech, he would have shielded FDNY from the storm of blame. Alas, he has neither! And you know what is so pathetic? This is exactly the truth! This is what happened.
Why wasn't the speech given? They panicked. In FDNY jargon, an officer who panics when things get hot is called a 'screamer'. Bloomberg and Scoppetta are 'screamers'. They panicked. They couldn't take the heat and in their panic, they did something dreadful. And it seems they are too small to back down now when things are "cooler".
Is it too late for Scoppetta to announce that FDNY's investigation is over and give the above speech? It is never too late.
THE FDNY'S PARALYSIS
November 9, 2007 -- A union's objections to a new FDNY building-inspection plan shows why holding top departmental brass ac countable is so vital.
The plan, rolled out Monday, calls for several new procedures, including more time for inspections (nine hours a week, up from six). FDNY brass developed it after reviewing their inspection program in the wake of the Aug. 18 Deutsche Bank fire, which killed two firefighters.
The Deutsche Bank tower had been damaged on 9/11 and was being taken down at the time of the fire. Under city rules, it should have been inspected every 15 days.
But firefighters hadn't been to the site for months before the blaze. When units arrived to douse the flames, they had no idea that stairwells were boarded up and a standpipe, meant to deliver water to upper floors, had been cut.
Had they known, the two firefighters - Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino - almost certainly would have survived.
So the added time for inspections (assuming they actually get carried out, of course) seems like a good idea.
Alas, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association doesn't agree: It frets that extra inspections could sap manpower. Longer response times could result.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta rejects that claim, insisting there's enough time and personnel for inspections and firefighting. Visiting sites, he said, has "never interfered with response times."
Ah, but Scoppetta has zero credibility these days.
The Deutsche Bank tragedy was a command failure - a Scoppetta failure - of monumental proportion: Inspections were skipped, warnings about the building went ignored and the required pre-plan for fighting a fire in the building had never been written.
Yet neither he nor any other top-rank official has been held to account.
Certainly, that corrodes rank-and-file confidence in Scoppetta. So who can blame firefighters for doubting his thinking about inspections?
As long as he keeps his job, firefighters will be second-guessing his every move. Which could compromise their effectiveness - and endanger all New Yorkers.
It's the price everyone must pay - so that Scoppetta & Co. can pay none.
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