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Two Firefighters Killed in Fire Near Ground Zero |
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| Robert Beddia |
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| Joseph Graffagnino |
Firefighters unselfishly risk their lives every day to protect each of us. Unfortunately, sometimes they pay the ultimate price. On Saturday, two New York City firefighters—Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino—were killed while battling a blaze at a building just south of New York’s Ground Zero.
Both men became trapped while working the seven-alarm fire in the Deutsche Bank building. Both were taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest and later were pronounced dead.
Beddia, 53, a 23-year veteran, and Graffagnino, 33, an eight-year veteran, worked at Ladder Company 5 and were members of the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94.
Fire Fighters (IAFF) President Harold Schaitberger extended sympathies to the families of the two men and to the members of Local 94. “We stand with you in this time of mourning,” Schaitberger said.
Ladder Company 5 also lost 11 firefighters in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. Both Beddia and Graffagnino responded to the World Trade Center that day.
Graffagnino and Beddia are the 1,136th and 1,137th members of the New York City Fire Department to die in the department’s 143-year history, according to the IAFF.
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My heart goes out to the families of Beddia and Graffagnino. They are heroes.
I do not understand why the building that caught fire was not razed after 9-11, because it was determined to be unsafe after the attack. This should have been Giuliani’s priority to make sure that unsafe structures were properly imploded and taken down. As it were, it was a dangerous fire hazard.