Building badly damaged by 9/11 catches fire, 2 NYC firfghtrs

[MusicCityMan]

http://www.yahoo.com

Firefighters die in blaze by ground zero
By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago



NEW YORK - An abandoned skyscraper was in danger of collapse after a seven-alarm ripped through the building near ground zero, police said. Two firefighters died of injuries suffered battling the blaze, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The fire was burning on multiple floors in the former Deutsche Bank building, which was devastated by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. One firefighter suffered cardiac arrest and another smoke inhalation. A third suffered minor injuries, fire officials at the scene said.

Construction crews had already dismantled 14 of the building's 40 stories — reaching the 26th floor on Tuesday. Some firefighters used stairs to reach the burning upper floors.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but smoke pouring from the burning building was visible from midtown Manhattan and the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. NYU Downtown Hospital reported its emergency room was treating at least one patient brought in from the blaze.

The acrid smell of smoke, which hung over the neighborhood for days after Sept. 11, returned to lower Manhattan along with the wail of emergency vehicles. More than three dozen fire vehicles, with more than 160 firefighters, responded to the blaze as pieces of burning debris fell from the building to the streets.

The 1.4-million square foot office tower was contaminated with toxic dust and debris after the World Trade Center's south tower collapsed into it. Efforts to dismantle it were halted by a labor dispute last year, along with the ongoing search for the remains of attack victims.

City officials announced in June they had completed recovery efforts at the structure. More than 700 human remains were found at the site.