Investigating the Fire Deaths

With the news, as our Sarah Garland reports this morning, that a standpipe in the Deutsche Bank building appears to have had been dismantled despite a requirement that it be kept operational during the demolition of the building, the investigation of the deaths of two firemen over the weekend takes a new turn. The governor who is now in charge of ground zero, Eliot Spitzer, as attorney general did not hesitate to rain subpoenas on businessmen he suspected of wrongdoing. Here is a case where an aggressive investigation seems warranted, not only of the physical evidence at the scene, but of any emails or notes by contractors working on the site. As The New York Sun reported yesterday, the contractor stood to gain a $6 million bonus if the demolition was completed by year's end, and the contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, has a history of accidents at its New York City construction sites. The company hasn't been charged with or accused of any crime, and investigators have so far found no indication of arson. Honoring the memory of the firefighters who died at the scene, Robert Beddia, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, requires no less than a full investigation.