by ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
The sister of one of the two firefighters killed in August fighting a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building sued the government agency that owns the building and several contractors on Wednesday, charging they knowingly created dangerous conditions that led to her brother's death.
The sister, Barbara Beddia Crocco, contends in the suit that her brother, Robert Beddia, 53, died because of conditions caused during the dismantling of the building, including piles of combustible debris, dismantled fire connections, compromised stairwell walls and barricaded exits.
The lawsuit says the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owned the building, and several private companies knew of the potentially fatal conditions before the fire.
But in a striking omission, Ms. Crocco did not sue New York City or the city's Fire Department, even though city officials relieved three senior fire officers of their posts about 10 days after the Aug. 18 fire. Aryeh Portnoy, a lawyer for Ms. Crocco, said his client had not ruled out suing the Fire Department, "at the right time."
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