2 Firefighters Hurt from Falling WTC Debris

A skyscraper in the middle of being dismantled near the World Trade Center site was the scene today of an accident today, Thursday May 17th, according to the Associated Press, .A 15-floor sprinkler pipe fell from the former 40-story Deutshe Bank building and smashed through the roof of the nearby firehouse on Thursday, subsequently injuring two firefighters. Demolition work was stopped immediately. The pipe fell onto Engine 10/Ladder 10.

This firehouse was almost destroyed when the Sept 11th terrorist attack occurred. Out of the 343 firefighters who responded from the building, 6 were killed. A bronze memorial to those 6 has been placed on the building to commemorate their death.

The former Deutshe Building was also heavily damaged when one of the twin towers collapsed on it. Work began just last year to tear it down as cleanup of toxic material in the building has been going on since 2005. There has also been a search there for hundreds of human bones that are still slowly being recovered, and work has been previously stopped by environmental regulators for this reason.

John Galt Corp. was the contractor working on the demolition of the building. They were cutting the pipe at around 7 a.m. when it became dislodged and crashed through the roof below them. According to fire officials, the two firefighters were not actually hit by the pipe, and were treated for minor injuries and released.

The City Buildings Department have since issued the company a violation for failure to safeguard the public and property, spokeswoman Kate Lindquist said,http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_re_us/toxic_tower . Messages left with the construction company were not answered.

originally reported By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer, 2 hurt by falling WTC skyscraper debris
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_re_us/toxic_tower