New York City
A seven-alarm blaze killed two firefighters last week at a building that was originally damaged in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The firefighters, Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino, worked at a lower Manhattan fire station that lost 11 men on 9/11. The Deutsche Bank tower was damaged by one of the falling towers six years ago, but had been only partly dismantled, and firefighters were hindered by a maze of protective sheets that had been installed to prevent the spread of asbestos and other toxic material. On a visit to the grief-stricken firehouse, Fire Department Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said that Beddia and Graffagnino should be considered two more casualties of 9/11. “This house has seen more pain and devastation than anyone should have to deal with,” Scoppetta said. Investigators were examining whether a cigarette discarded by demolition workers may have started the blaze.
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