Lack of information sharing during Deutsche Bank fire

| 10.03.2007 | 05:34:066916 |

October 3 '07: The New York Times reported that fire fighters responding to the Deutsche Bank fire in New York City on August 18 were not aware of a special sealed staircase designated for emergency response. "The stairwells were sealed with heavy plywood and plastic to prevent toxic materials from escaping and hinged trap doors were put in the plywood slabs, yet the escape plan was never brought to the attention of firefighters assigned to respond."

Firefighters responded to a call from the building, which was being demolished across the street from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. The fire in the building ended up killing two firefighters.

Fire officials said they were not involved in the development of the escape plan and that they were never notified of its existence. "As a result," the Times reported, "scores of firefighters were forced to scramble down exterior scaffolding or seek other escape routes." On other floors, firefighters used chainsaws to cut the plywood "because they did not know about the trap doors."

The Times continued: "The emergency escape plan was developed last year by the John Galt Corporation, the contractor hired to demolished the building at ground zero ... The point of sealing the stairwells was to meet the standards set by environmental regulators who feared that decontamination efforts could create dangerous pollution in Lower Manhattan. ... The plan was posted on the agency's Web site, but it is unclear who else was officially notified of the emergency arrangement."