by ZACHARY R. DOWDY
The family of Robert Beddia, a firefighter who died in a blaze at the Deutsche Bank building near Ground Zero in August, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit yesterday in State Supreme Court.
Beddia, 53, of Staten Island, a member of Engine Company 24, died along with Joseph Graffagnino, 33, of Brooklyn, a member of Ladder Company 5, in a fire at 130 Liberty St.
The building was being razed at the time of the fire after it was heavily damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Investigators found the men died of smoke inhalation after they became trapped on the 14th floor, officials said.
The lawsuit, filed by Barbara Beddia Crocco, Beddia's sister, seeks unspecified damages. When the Beddia family filed a notice of claim three months ago, they sought $30 million.
"They did things that violated rules and laws and regulations, and they put people in danger and people died," said Aryeh Portnoy, of Manhattan, an attorney for the Beddia family.
There are a dozen defendants in the lawsuit, including city-state entities such as the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and private firms such as contractor Bovis Lend Lease.
"To my knowledge, we have not received the lawsuit yet. However ... the city is keeping the Beddia family, as well as the Graffagnino family in our thoughts," said Kate O'Brien Ahlers, press director for the New York City Law Department.
A spokeswoman for Bovis Lend Lease declined to comment.
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