Fire Lines XLIII, No 3 FINAL.qxp - Uniformed Firefighters Association

The Bravest
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK
VOL. XLIII NO. 3, 2007
5-5-5-5
President’s Message
By STEPHEN J. CASSIDY
n August 18th,
Firefighters Joseph
Graffagnino, of
Ladder Company 5, and Robert
Beddia, of Engine Company 24
made the supreme sacrifice while
operating at Manhattan Box 7-7
0047, 130 Liberty Street, also
known as Deutsche Bank.
Firefighter Graffagnino
was an eight-year veteran of the
FDNY, appointed in May 1999.
His Funeral Mass was held on
Thursday, August 23rd, at St.
Ephrem’s Roman Catholic Church
in Brooklyn.
Firefighter Beddia was a
23-year veteran, appointed in
October 1983. His Funeral Mass
was on Friday, August 24th, at St.
Patrick's Cathedral, in Manhattan.
Firefighter Graffagnino and Firefighter Beddia are the 1,136th and
1,137th members of the New York
O
FF Joseph Graffagnino
City Fire Department to make the
ultimate sacrifice in the Department's history.
This fire was anything but
ordinary. The Deutsche Bank
building was a toxic vacant hi-rise
structure under demolition. The
Scoppetta administration had no
fire plan and was not conducting
inspections. The media reported
that a 42 foot section of the standpipe was removed in December of
2006.
Contractors said they
believed it was part of the sprinkler system. Staircases were
FF Robert Beddia
sealed, and in some cases
removed, eliminating any means
of egress except an exterior elevator. Negative air pressure was
being employed for abatement. A
perfect storm was created that
killed two Firefighters and almost
killed another dozen more. Based
on the history of the building, and
knowing that decisions regarding
this building went to the highest
levels of the NYC Fire Department, we called on NYS Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo, and
Manhattan District Attorney
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NO.3 2007
President’s Message
(Continued from page 1)
Robert Morgenthau, to conduct
independent investigations of the
fire and the events that led to the
horrific loss of two of our Brothers. Incredibly, when a section of
pipe fell from Deutsche Bank on
May 17, 2007, and landed on 10
House, Scoppetta’s answer was to
hold a meeting which was attended
by Manhattan Borough Commander Wienline. At no time did anyone say “maybe we should go
across the street and see what’s
going on.” Why? One thing is
clear; any investigation by the Fire
Department into its own actions
has no merit. Clearly an outside
investigator is needed because
there were so many local and state
agencies involved with the abatement and demolition of the
Deutsche Bank building. Comprehensive coverage of the UFA’s
demands is posted on our Web site.
In the direct aftermath of
the tragedy, the Fire Commissioner made a calculated decision reassigning a Captain, a Battalion
Chief, and a Deputy Chief. We
believe that these men are being
made scapegoats for the Department's failed leadership at the top.
The UFA has not believed in Commissioner Scoppetta since our noconfidence vote on December 7, of
2004. His tenure at the Fire
Department has been mired in failures that have affected every Firefighter and Officer. He is an ineffective Commissioner who only
knows how to prosecute and not
how to lead. His lifting of three
line Officers without even inter-
viewing them is not surprising.
The UFA has reached out
to the UFOA and we have offered
our support in any manner to
defend these three maligned Officers. We believe that by all
accounts, the decision not to
inspect 130 Liberty Street
(Deutsche Bank Building) came
from the top. We will demand that
those responsible be held accountable.
Please notify your trustee if
anyone attempts to interview any
member in connection with the fire
or events that took place leading
up to the fire. UFA Board Members are present to protect our
members. No member should
make any statements to anyone
unless a UFA Board Member is
present. As the Manhattan District
Attorney and the New York State
Attorney General's Office continue
their investigations we will keep
the membership updated.
September 11th marked the
6th anniversary of the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center.
To commemorate these tragic
events, and to honor the memory
of the 343 Firefighters who made
the supreme sacrifice, members of
Battalion 18 hosted its annual
memorial service at the Firefighters Memorial Monument on Riverside Drive and 100th Street (Upper
West Side of Manhattan). All Firefighters and family members were
invited to attend. A Mass at St.
John the Divine followed.
On Saturday, September
15, 2007, the names of Lt. Howard
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Carpluk, E 42, and Firefighter
Michael C. Reilly, E 75, both of
whom made the supreme sacrifice
on August 27, 2006, were added to
the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter
Memorial in Colorado Springs,
Colorado. Since 1976, the names
of all fallen IAFF members have
been engraved into the wall of
honor located behind the memorial.
The Health Benefits Transfer Period (for active members
only this year) begins November 1,
2007, and ends November 30,
2007. Late changes will not be
accepted by the City! Health plan
changes requested during the
Transfer Period will be effective
the first day of the first full payroll
period in January 2008. During
the annual Transfer Period members may transfer into any health
plan offered for which they may be
eligible, add or drop optional rider
coverage, or add or drop dependents.
We will continue to post
updates regarding the Deutsche
Bank fire on our Web site. As
always, stay safe!
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NO.3 2007
Page 3
Legislative Update
Governor Spitzer Signs Prior Service Credit &
WTC Filing Extender
n August
28th,
Governor
Spitzer
s i g n e d
S2414/A4529,
Ch. 637 of 2007.
This bill grants
By JAMES SLEVIN pension credit
UFA Vice President/
members
Legislative Chairman for
who served in
various uniformed titles and/or
titles with Peace Officer status prior
to gaining employment with the
FDNY. The time served in previous
positions will be credited toward
the minimum period for service
retirement from the FDNY.
O
Although similar legislation was
already in place, any member that
transferred their time over before it
was passed has it counted on the
back end. With the signing of this
bill it will be credited as a buyback
and counted up front for pension
purposes only. The UFA would like
to thank Governor Spitzer, Assemblyman Abbate, and Senator Padavan, for signing and sponsoring this
legislation. Additionally a big thank
you to all the members that participated in UFA Lobby Day helping to
push for this bill. UFA Lobby Day
is tentatively set for June 10th next
year (2008). Mark your calendars.
UFA lobbying efforts have also
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been successful in achieving the
following legislative goals, which
were signed into law by Governor
Spitzer:
WTC Notice of Participation
Form Filing Deadline Extended 2
Years
Extended to June 14, 2009,
the period in which members may
file the WTC Notice of Participation Form, if they were active on
September 11, 2001, and worked at
the WTC, Fresh Kills Landfill,
NYC Morgue, or WTC Barges, in
accordance with definitions established in the WTC Presumptive Illness Law. If a member missed the
original deadline, the form may be
found at the UFA Web site
www.ufanyc.org. It is recommended to send this form via certified USPS mail, return receipt. To
confirm that HQ has received your
form or for any questions, contact
718-999-7041 or 718-999-0148.
WTC Workers Comp Filing
Extended 1 Year
Extended to Aug. 14, 2008,
the period in which members who
were retired prior to September 11,
2001, and volunteered at ground
zero can register with the State
Workers' Compensation Board,
even if the member is not ill.
Because some illnesses take many
years to develop, state laws give
these retired members the chance to
register with the board to preserve
their right to file claims if they
become ill in the future. Registration forms are available at the Web
sites of the Workers' Compensation
(Continued on page 4)
Page 4
(Continued from page 3)
Board, www.wcb.state.ny.us, the
Committee for Occupational Safety
and Health, www.nycosh.org, or
the UFA Web site home page
www.ufanyc.org.
Amendment of the General
Municipal Law, as it Relates to
Accidental Death Benefits Under
the WTC Presumptive Bill
This amends the existing
law by correcting a technical deficiency for the accidental death benefits to the beneficiaries of WTC
responders who, in the performance
and discharge of their duty, were
exposed to toxic substances as a
result of the terrorist attacks of 9-11
and subsequently lost their life.
Current law, Chapter 445 of 2006,
only provides the accidental death
benefit provided by NYC, and does
not provide the benefit paid by
NYS. This bill corrects that techni-
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cality.
PERB EXTENDER
Extends for an additional two years
the effectiveness of provisions
establishing dispute resolution during collective negotiations.
GENERAL BENEFITS EXTENDER
Extends certain temporary benefits
and supplementation programs.
Heart Bill, Cancer Bill, HAT Bill
and ITHP.
TIER II PENSION EXTENDER
Extends application of article 11 of
the retirement and social security
law to all police officers and Firefighters who joined the system
before July 1, 2009
LINE OF DUTY WIDOWS
COLA
Increases certain special accidental
death benefits for surviving spouses
and children of certain police and
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NO.3 2007
fire personnel.
The 2008 UFA Legislative
Agenda will soon be available for
download on the UFA Web site,
www.ufanyc.org, under the “Legislative” section. All of the state
legislators are up for re-election in
2008! The UFA will be leveraging
that so that we can push for some
landmark legislation for our members. Thank you to all our members
that get involved with the political
action program.
IMPORTANT RETIREE
UPDATE
The benefit amount of your Fire
Department Life Insurance has
been increased from $5,800 to
$6,000 effective July 1, 2007. Your
premium deduction of $9.00 will
remain the same.
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NO.3 2007
Page 5
DEUTSCHE BANK FIRE INTERVIEWS
here
are
several
simultaneous investigations
proceeding as a
result of the fatal
fire
at
the
Deutsche
Bank
William Romaka
building on August
Health & Safety
18, 2007. The Fire
Officer
Department Safety
Battalion and the Bureau of Fire
Investigations are conducting separate inquiries. We also know that
the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office and the New York State
Attorney General's Office are
launching investigations. We also
believe that an investigation may be
started by the N.Y.P.D. Furthermore, both NIOSH and PESH
always investigate fatal fires.
In addition, members who
are asked to give interviews or
statements about their knowledge
of the fire or the conditions in the
fire building before the fire should
be aware of their rights. Our coun-
T
sel advises:
1. Pursuant to the Individual
Rights’ provision under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, duly
authorized representatives of the
Fire Department (which would
include the Safety Battalion and
BFI) may interview members “during reasonable hours.”
If a member is off-duty and
a witness, he is to be compensated
for the time spent and two hours of
travel time at the rate of time and
one-half. In the unlikely event that
any off-duty member is the subject
of an investigation, he is to be compensated for the time spent and two
hours travel time at a straight time
rate. Before an interview commences, the member must be
advised as to whether he is a witness or a suspect (subject).
If a member is a witness
only (as we anticipate for all interviews), the Department has always
permitted union representation at
the interviews. No member should
consent to an interview in connec-
tion with the Deutsche Bank fire
without first notifying the union.
If a member is a suspect
(subject), he still must answer questions relating to the performance of
his duties and is entitled to have an
attorney with him. Certainly if a
member is advised that he is a suspect (subject), he must ask for an
attorney before consenting to an
interview.
2.With respect to interviews
by the District Attorney’s Office,
the Office of the Attorney General,
or the NYPD, no member is obligated to speak to any of those agencies. However, at least with respect
to the District Attorney’s Office and
the Attorney General’s Office, the
UFA recommends cooperation with
those agencies. Before any member
is interviewed by one of the above
agencies, however, he should ask to
have an attorney present to make
sure that his rights are properly protected.
We urge any member who is
asked to give an interview to ANYBODY to call their UFA Trustee or
the Health & Safety Office before
agreeing to the interview”.
PHOTO CREDITS: Stephen N. Symbolik
September 11th marked the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. To commemorate these
tragic events, and to honor the memory of the 343 Firefighters who made the supreme sacrifice, members of Battalion
18 hosted its annual memorial service at the Firefighters Memorial Monument on Riverside Drive and 100th Street
(Upper West Side of Manhattan). All Firefighters and family members were invited to attend.
www.ufanyc.org
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NO.3 2007
Firefighters Variable Supplemental Fund (VSF) Information for
Members who Retired with 20 Years Service Retirement
by James M. Slevin
Vice President
A
s you
a r e
aware
, the Variable Supplemental Fund
(VSF) which was negotiated in the
1987-1990 UFA contract and which
provides a guaranteed level of supplemental benefits to Firefighters who
retire (or have retired) for service
retirement with at least 20 years of
service.
This year, the benefit will be
$12,000, which is the maximum payment. The UFA is currently evaluating
the status of funds that are available in
the plan. Our goal and objective will
be to improve the benefit payout
prospectively.
In the past, the State Legislature, in recognition of inflation, has
increased retirement benefits to
retirees in the Article 1-B system. Any
increase in supplementation benefits or
cost-of-living adjustments (COLA)
payable from the Fund, under legislation enacted after 1988, has reduced
benefits payable until the later of, (a)
age 62, or (b) calendar year 2007.
This provision allows that all
members aged 62 who retired for service will receive the full $12,000 benefit with no COLA offset on or about
December 15, 2007. We will notify our
retired members if any changes or
improvements occur with the plan in
calendar year 2008.
PHOTO TRIBUTE TO
FF JOSEPH GRAFFAGNINO
(left) FF
Graffagnino’s casket being taken into
St. Ephrem’s
Roman Catholic
Church in Brooklyn.
Firefighters, dignitaries, and citizens
crowded the streets
to pay their
respects.
(above) Pallbearers from
Engine Company 5 take
FF Graffagnino’s casket
from St. Ephrem’s
Church after the funeral
Mass.
(right) Thousands of
Firefighters stand at
attention as FF
Graffagnino’s casket passes in honor
to the c e m e t e ry.
PHOTO CREDITS: Todd Maisel
www.ufanyc.org
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NO.3 2007
Page 7
PHOTO TRIBUTE TO
FF ROBERT BEDDIA
(above) Clergy, dignitaries, and
thousands of Firefighters and
citizens watch as FF Beddia’s
casket is placed on the Engine
24 in front of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral.
PHOTO CREDITS: Todd Maisel
PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen N. Symbolik
(right) Pallbearers from
Engine Company 24 take FF
Bedia’s casket from St.
Patrick’s Cathedral after the
funeral Mass.
(right) After the
funeral, FF Beddia’s
casket processes up
5th Avenue past
Rockefeller Center.
UFA SUPPORTS LABOR DAY RALLY
by Stephen N. Symbolik
Managing Editor
tephen J. Cassidy, UFA President, along with James M
Slevin, UFA Vice President,
and John G. Kelly, Jr, UFA Brooklyn Trustee, joined union workers,
and elected officials, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, near
the former World Trade Center site
on September 8th in support of federal legislation that would provide
long-term monitoring and treatment
for people exposed to dust in Lower
S
Manhattan during the 9/11 cleanup.
The rally was sponsored by
the NYC Central Labor Council,
the NYS AFL-CIO, and the Building & Construction Trades Council.
Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold L. Nadler, and Vito
Fossella, sponsored the bill which
was introduced in the House on
September 11, 2007. This new bill
takes elements from several bills
that have failed to get through Congress.
To better understand the
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magnitude of ground zero-related
illnesses, the bill would require the
government to collect data and
monitor rescue and office workers,
and others who were in Lower
Manhattan on September 11th.
Compensation would also be provided to anyone exposed to
asbestos and other contaminated
dust.
City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, said she would make
the legislation “the top priority”
when she visits Washington this
month.
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NO.3 2007
UFA LINE-OF-DUTY FUNERAL FUND UPDATE
by Stephen G. Humenesky
Queens Trustee
ince its
inception
in 2002,
the UFA Line
Of
Duty
(LOD) Funeral
Fund has been
our members’
unique way of repaying the
kindness and support extended
to us in the days, weeks, and
months, after September 11,
2001, when Firefighters from
all over the country flooded
into New York City, eager to
help in any way they could. At
that time, the most immediate
need was to have as many uniformed personnel as possible
filling the houses of worship
and lining streets—with so
many funerals to attend, this
was impossible for the FDNY
to do without help. So far this
year, the LOD Fund has sent
over 100 members to funerals
in eleven cities.
The UFA Funeral Fund
Committee is made up of
members representing each
city borough and chaired by
UFA Executive Board member, Queens Trustee Steve
Humenesky. The current borough representatives are: Paul
DeLeo (L-41, Bronx); Edward
Lawler (L-140, Queens); Joe
Cicero (E-167, Staten Island);
Sal Argano (E-10, Manhattan)
and Michael Bacigalupo, Battalion 42, Brooklyn). Ann
Elizabeth serves as LOD Fund
Administrator.
The UFA LOD Funeral
Fund has evolved a great deal
and has gone through many
changes over the past five
years--not only has the number of attending UFA members
grown from two members
S
(from one firehouse) to six
members (two members from
three firehouses at a time), but
the scope of the LOD Fund has
expanded to now assist our
members when we suffer a
loss of our own. This article is
intended to provide updates on
some changes to the LOD
Fund operation as well as to
address some commonly
asked questions.
How are members chosen to
attend the funerals?
Members are called
upon to attend according to a
firehouse attendance schedule,
which was established to
ensure every company gets a
chance to represent the UFA
and minimize the confusion
and volume of inquiry calls
when an out-of-town funeral
occurs.
The schedule is ordered
numerically within each borough (as opposed to being
ordered by battalion), starting
with the lowest-numbered
engine company and working
upwards numerically, including single truck companies,
with special units at the end.
The Fund Administrator works
with the Delegates of companies next on the schedule to
determine attendees within the
firehouse. The firehouses
rotate through the five boroughs according to an order
randomly chosen by the LOD
Fund’s governing committee.
At this time, all companies in
Staten Island have attended,
therefore that borough is currently out of rotation.
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If I’m scheduled to work but
am otherwise available to go
when my firehouse is up, can
I get taken off the chart?
Unfortunately,
the
FDNY does not formally recognize this gesture of gratitude, and therefore has thus far
been unwilling to take members off-line or provide any
assistance to our Firefighters
attending out of town funerals.
UFA members created, fund,
and participate in this ongoing
show of respect on their own
time and at their own expense
as a membership, without cooperation from the Department or the City.
When I attend an out of
town funeral, what am I
expected to do?
In general, and depending on distance, the funeral trip
spans the better part of three
days and two nights. Travel
arrangements for funeral trips
are made by the LOD Fund
Administrator and include airline, car rental, and hotel reservations, which are paid for
ahead of time by the UFA
LOD Funeral Fund. Due to
time constraints of the event,
arrangements are made on a
group-basis and therefore special requests (for example,
specific, more convenient airports, etc.) cannot be accommodated. Flight times and
reservation codes, confirmation numbers, funeral location
and other pertinent information as well as, whenever possible, a contact name and number from the deceased member’s
IAFF Local are all put onto an itiner-
Continued on page 11
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NO.3 2007
Page 9
2nd ANNUAL FILL-THE - BOOT CAMPAIGN FOR MDA
ver
the
Labor Day
weekend,
during the 42nd
Annual
MDA
Telethon, September 2-3, 2007,
By Daniel Murphy
thanks to the
Manhattan Trustee
support of the
UFA & UFOA, I was able to give a
check in the amount of $22,000 to
the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The money was raised
through the 2nd Annual “Fill-theBoot” campaign. Since 1954,
Firefighters throughout the country have raised millions of dollars
O
in the fight against muscular dystrophy by asking people to donate
spare change into their boots.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) was
the largest contributor to the Muscular Dystrophy Association,
donating a record breaking $25.25
million in pledges. With this year’s
total, IAFF members have donated
more than $300 million to MDA
since 1954.
The IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger appeared
throughout the telethon lauding
Firefighters for their commitment
to the “Fill-the-Boot” drives for
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Jerry’s Kids.
Telethon host Jerry Lewis
said, “I’m deeply grateful to the
Firefighters for their incredible
effort to raise money for MDA’s
ongoing battle against muscular
dystrophy.”
All money raised for MDA
in New York City will stay right
here, funding research and providing services to New Yorkers with
muscular dystrophy, including the
relatives and children of many of
our own members.
Page 10
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NO.3 2007
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
By Herb Eysser, UFA Staff
Engine Company 17 was a
mainstay on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan for over 125 years.
Known for their dedication to duty,
Engine Company 17 was an outstanding example of the FDNY
“can do” attitude. Fire…they did
not fear!
Engine
Company 17 was
one of the original
FDNY units that
was
organized
when the fire
department went
paid in 1865. It
went into service
in a former volunteer fire department house at 91
Ludlow Street just south of
Delancey Street. The old building
still stands today.
For twenty-two years, from
1917 to 1939, Engine Company 17
was a double-engine company with
two sections. It was always an
extremely busy engine company
with a very heavy workload. Who
could forget boxes 277, 291, or
432! Yet, in 1991, the company was
closed down which was a major tactical error on the part of City Hall
and Fire Headquarters. One of many!
Engine Company 17 is one of
twelve engine companies closed
down from the Battery to 14th
Street over the years. Many of
these twelve engine companies
were double-engine companies
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with second sections. The closing
of all engine companies south of
14th Street has had a serious negative impact on all of Lower Manhattan.
Ironically, as more and more
people moved in, fire companies
were moved out by the city. All
would
have
responded to the
recent Deutsche
Bank building
tragedy if they
were still in
service. Engine
companies 11,
12, 13, 17, 20,
25, 27, 29, 30,
31, 32 and 72,
were all sorely
missed
on
August 18th when Engine 24 and
Ladder 5 lost two more of its members, Lt. Joseph Graffagnino and
Firefighter Robert Beddia. Gone
but not forgotten!
Uniformed Firefighters Association
Of Greater New York
204 EAST 23rd STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010-9998
Tel (212) 683-4832 • Fax (212) 683-0710
www.ufanyc.org
STEPHEN J. CASSIDY
President
ENG 236
JAMES M. SLEVIN
Vice President
LAD 7
JOSEPH MICCIO
Recording Secretary
ENG 295
ROBERT STRAUB
Treasurer
ENG 45
WILLIAM ROMAKA
Health & Safety Officer
Sergeant-at-Arms
ENG 238
LESTER LAYNE
Fire Marshal Representative
STEPHEN J. CASSIDY
Editor-In-Chief
BF1
DONALD RULAND
Trustee-Staten Island
ENG 157
JOHN G. KELLY, JR
Trustee-Brooklyn
ENG 201
Chairman, Board of Trustees
STEPHEN G. HUMENESKY
Trustee-Queens
ENG 301
DANIEL MURPHY
Trustee-Manhattan
ENG 74
EDWARD BROWN
Trustee-Bronx
LAD 48
STEPHEN N. SYMBOLIK
Managing Editor
www.ufanyc.org
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