Two firefighters were killed, and prosecutors say construction workers are at fault.The defense is expected to argue that the state, city and missed safety inspections are the real reason /*Robert Beddia*/ and /*Joseph Graffagnino*/ died.
"Listen, I want a roll call," a fire official said in tape transcripts from the 2007 fire. "Do we have a roll call finished up there? I don't give a [expletive] about the building. I give a [expletive] about the guys. Do we have a roll call? Do we know who's missing?"
The firefighters desperately worked to rescue their own as they battled flames at the former /*Deutsche Bank*/ building.
But when it was all over, Beddia and Graffagnino were dead. Now, years later, the fight over who is to blame is intensifying.
Three construction supervisors and a subcontractor are charged with manslaughter, after prosecutors said the men's negligence led to the firefighters' deaths. Prosecutors say defendants /*Mitchel Alvo*/, /*Jeffrey Melofchik*/ and /*Salvatore DePaola*/ let a break in a crucial firefighting water pipe go unfixed and even took steps to conceal it.
However, reports indicate the defense will likely put the blame on the city, accusing it of creating unsafe conditions at the building. The defendants say they're small-time scapegoats for a fire fueled by others' mistakes.
