by SARAH GARLAND - Staff Reporter of the Sun
The family of one of the firefighters who died in a blaze in the former Deutsche Bank building at ground zero last summer has filed a sweeping lawsuit against more than nine government agencies and construction companies involved in the demolition of the building.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday, alleges that the defendants' "wanton, willful, and reckless conduct" was responsible for the death of the firefighter, Robert Beddia, 53, whose family is named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit. Another firefighter, Joseph Graffagnino, 33, was also killed in the August 18 fire.
The two firefighters became trapped in the building, where the fire and buildings departments later discovered debris, a broken standpipe, and blocked stairwells. In the lawsuit, which seeks punitive and compensatory damages for Beddia's pain and suffering, lawyers for Beddia's family allege that the defendants "were responsible for numerous and serious safety lapses that converted the building into a veritable death trap for firefighters."
The defendants include the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the state agency that owned the building, and the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, which has overseen construction at ground zero.
They also include the construction contractor, Bovis Lend Lease Inc., which was overseeing the demolition; the John Galt Corp., a construction company that was contracted by Bovis and later fired from the job; TRC Environmental Corp., which was monitoring the air safety as the toxic building was dismantled, and the URS Corp., a construction company contracted by the state agencies to oversee the safety at the site on their behalf.
Other construction companies named in the lawsuit that were involved at different points in the project include Gilbane Building Co., Safeway Environmental Corp., and Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Co. Inc.
A spokesman for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., Warner Johnston, said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.
A spokeswoman for Gilbane, Kristy dosReis, said: "We haven't seen the lawsuit yet, so we don't have a comment at this time." A spokeswoman for Bovis, Mary Costello, said, "By policy, Bovis does not comment on lawsuits." The other companies could not be reached or did not respond by yesterday evening to requests for comment.
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