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Firefighter's Widow Speaks Out Against City
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 1, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 1, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Two weeks ago today, a 7-alarm fire at 130 Liberty Street, at the under-demolition Deutsche Bank building, claimed the lives of two firefighters, Robert Beddia, a 24-year FDNY veteran, and Joseph Graffagnino, an 8-year vet. In the wake of the tragedy, investigations revealed that though smoking by construction workers probably caused the fire, there were a series of failures on the part of the contractor and FDNY, as well as state and city agencies. Graffagnino's widow Linda angrily lashed out at the city in comments to the Post and Daily News:
With the city, it's really all about money; it's not about human life. Now who is paying the price? Me, my in-laws and my children. The firefighters, they're the good guys, and it's the city's responsibility to protect them...
Someone screwed up major...You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know if there's no water in the building, you get the people out of there as fast as you can...
If you don't have water to put a fire out, I don't know how you're going to put it out. I don't know who you're going to save...
Has this country not learned anything from 9/11? You would think after thousands of people died, someone would learn a lesson, but it just didn't happen...
It's sad to say that my husband had to die for someone to take notice and take action, but if I could maybe change someone else's life and save another firefighter's life down the road so they don't have to go through this, that will make me feel some peace.
She added, "This is the worst thing that could have possibly happened. I'm 33 and now I'm a widow and I have two small children. I never thought that I would be here."
The city is investigating why fire chiefs ignored the safety lapses, like a non-working standpipe and blocked stairwells, at the Deutsche Bank building. And the NY Times has an article about Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, who the Post has asked to resign. Scoppetta, who was a prosecutor and the head of the Administration of Children's Services, before becoming fire commissioner, admits he didn't know anything about the FDNY before Mayor Bloomberg asked him to take the job, but, "It seemed irresistible, post-9/11, to be connected to the Fire Department and do whatever any of us could to help rebuild." However, many firefighters believe he's out of touch with the day-to-day.
Photograph of the two-week old memorial outside Engine 24, Ladder 5; in the photograph, Firefighter Robert Beddia is at left and Firefighter Joseph Graffagnino
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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