Fire in the Sky

The building on the left with the arched windows is where I live. This was in response to the seven-alarm fire on Saturday that raged through the old Deutsche Bank building next door.

In the picture below, my building is the one on the right, with the copper roof.



Fortunately for me, I was out of the city this weekend. When I got home, I found all the streets surrounding my building closed off to only NYPD, FDNY, OEM, and those of us who lived there. Although they let my fiancé, a guest, and myself through without question when we first arrived last night, I had to show ID to the police when I went to grab some food for breakfast this morning. And again when I left for work this morning. An investigation is on-going, though the streets are nearly cleaned up, and life has resumed. The main concern now is air quality in the area, although all of the emergency officials are walking around without masks.

Two firefighters lost their lives fighting this fire. Many of their colleagues were lost six years ago across the street. May they rest in peace.

The New York Times has a slide show here.

Coincidentally, on Friday the Times had a slide show of how the building is being dismantled.

This building has had a troubled history these last several years. It was irreparably damaged on September 11th, 2001, and was left vacant while the workers cleaned up the area around it. In that time, the water from putting out the fires combined with the chemicals released by the collapse of the towers to create a toxic and moldy environment throughout the building. As a result, the building was condemned to be taken down floor-by-floor, with air quality regulators and inspectors making sure that none of this material escaped to the rest of the neighborhood. For the last year, crews have been cleaning out the interior, and the main dismantling began back in February. Originally 41 floors, the building now stands at 26 floors, and will remain that way until the work crews can continue pending the investigation of the fire.

For now, I see a shell of a building out my window. Broken windows, collapsed scaffolding, and the eerie hulk of a building that should already have been put out of its misery by now.

Photos from the NYT wesite, www.nytimes.com