Aug. 23, 2007

Deutsche debris injures 2 more Bravest

A heavy pallet jack fell off the 23-floor of the Deutsche Bank building Thursday just after 2 p.m., injuring two firefighters. Both were taken to St. Vincent’s hospital and are in stable conditions, one with serious injuries, said Chris Lynch. He said the other injury was not as serious.

The injuries come just five days after two firefighters were killed in the building, and two days after the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. assured residents at an emergency meeting that they were proceeding carefully. The fire is still under investigation.

The L.M.D.C., the building’s owner, sent out an email advisory last night, saying they had directed Bovis Lend Lease, its general contractor, to begin repairing and removing debris on scaffolding in the building. The work was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Thursday.

Errol Cockfield, an L.M.D.C. spokesperson, said in a prepared statement that the pallet “struck a temporary shed in the safety perimeter around the building.”

Pat Moore, a resident of the adjacent building at 125 Cedar St., said she was told that the pallet accidentally fell off a hoist as a worker was taking it down, but that could not be independently verified.

A stop work order was issued after last weekend’s fatal fire, but the L.M.D.C. has approval to remove debris and take other action with the intent to make the site safer. Cockfield said all work was halted after the accident and all workers left the site.

Mary Dierecks, also a 125 Cedar St. resident, said she could not see what happened. “We didn’t hear anything other than glass coming down,” she told Downtown Express.

-- Josh Rogers

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