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August 23, 2007
Two More Firefighters Die at Ground Zero
Last weekend two more firefighters died at Ground Zero, while attempting to put out a blaze at the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street, which was slated for demolition after 9/11. Unlike other firefighters who have perished at this location, Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia were not killed by Islam, but by our own neurosis.
The firefighters ran out of oxygen after being trapped in "maze-like conditions" created by plastic sheeting used in an overzealous attempt to keep dust from contaminating the air. Fifty others were injured, eight seriously. Air quality tests taken after the fire detected no contamination.
9/11 was six years ago. That's been enough time for liberals to suppress all but vague memories of that day — but not enough time to tear down one of the buildings damaged in the attacks. You see, since there might be "contaminants of potential concern" like asbestos inside, bureaucrats require that the building be dismantled one molecule at a time.
Daniel Henninger elaborates:
Basically, men in space suits were scrubbing virtually every interior surface by hand and dismantling it by hand. Who could doubt that the human error rate would rise over time under such conditions, such as the steel beam that fell and penetrated the roof of the firehouse nearby? Or indeed this fire. Abandoned buildings full of the same materials are demolished faster all the time, but not this one. Instead of a demolition plan that struck a balance between controlling the toxicity and getting the job done, the process created what is virtually a hermetically sealed environment—to demolish 40 floors of junk. They've made the building so "safe" you can't get it down. So after six years a fire erupted and two firemen caught in the "Matrix"-world of 130 Liberty St. died.
The details of this public-policy morass are no exception in the post-9/11 world. They are the norm. The hyper-complex requirements and mindset reflected in the public record over 130 Liberty St. mirror the endless debate and litigation we've also layered into efforts to surveil and prosecute terrorists.
Society needs lawyers and even a few bureaucrats. But we don't need for their legalistic, ultra-procedural mentality to so dominate our culture as to cause paralysis — and the avoidable deaths of firemen.
On tips from Varla and Bergbikr.
Posted by Van Helsing at August 23, 2007 2:36 PM
Comments
Rest in peace, fellow brothers. We execute our duty on behalf of those we serve.
Semper Fi.
Posted by: Eoin at August 23, 2007 8:15 PM
yikes = gets worse
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/nyregion/23cnd-deutsche.html
Posted by: mike at August 23, 2007 8:36 PM
The damn building in the photograph (and I saw it "up close and personal" in 2005) reminds me of nothing so much as a Muslim woman decked out, head to toe, in a black burqa (or is it a chadour? I don't really give a crap, either way).
Tear this eyesore down, and do it NOW! The loss of even one firefighter or first-responder life in the service of environmentalist Moonbattery is most certainly one life too many. Ever heard of dynamite, fellas? Works real well . . .
Posted by: jc14 at August 23, 2007 9:03 PM
Another example of how we can't do anything in this country thanks to liberal moonbats. Fifty years ago we would have erected a fitting memorial at the Twin Towers site. Six years after the tragedy and the loonies fight progress every step of the way. Years ago we did great things, we built dams to generate power and irrigate the desert for food production. Now we can't do anything thanks to the left. How is it that they call themselves "progressives"?
Posted by: Bill Cruchon at August 24, 2007 9:29 AM
They call themselves progressives because they're progressively reducing our ability to do anything.
Posted by: Archonix at August 24, 2007 12:37 PM
