Progress Report (Wiltermuth)

A new fire code law has been proposed at the request of Mayor Bloomberg. It would be the first revision to the Code in almost a century and, if passed, will go into effect on July 1, 2008. The FDNY official press release is as follows:

A local law to enact a new Fire Code for New York City was introduced in the City Council on March 12, 2008, by Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee Chair Miguel Martinez, at the request of the Mayor. The proposed local law, Intro 732, would complete the first comprehensive revision of the City’s Fire Code in almost a century, and conclude a four-year Fire Code revision project. The new Fire Code would take effect on July 1, 2008, to coincide with the effective date of the new Building Code and related construction codes. For additional information about the proposed Fire Code, see the Fire Department's December 5, 2007 press release.

I stopped by Battalion 10 on the Upper East Side for general comment. The firefighters there had no comment, as they hadn't heard anything about a new fire code law. Also, authorization to talk with me on the record needed to come from "downtown." One firefighter told me the City and Morgenthau's office were trying to pin blame on the Fire Department for the Deutsche Bank incident, which occurred last August. He said the FDNY was under tremendous pressure to comply with the 15-day inspection. The Firehouse conducts spontaneous inspections (at the numerous new high-rise construction sites in the neighborhood) three times a week. I requested to accompany them on a site inspection and was told that "authorization would need to come from the Chief or downtown."

On Monday, I stopped back and spoke with Chief Richard Tarello. He indicated the request would have to be approved from "downtown." He said they don't receive many requests from the public, but would be accommodating, if approved.

The proposed text of the new Fire Code Law is over 600 pages long. I have not been able to indicate whether the "failed" 15-day inspection cycle will be addressed by this law. Admittedly, timing is a curious thing. The Mayor and FDNY are pushing through a huge revamp of the Fire Code law while they are both under investigation for what went wrong at the Deutsche Bank. Everyone seems to be pointing fingers, clamming up and looking for an alibi.

People to contact:
* Miguel Martinez, Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee Chair
* Mayor Bloomberg's PR person
* Ask John Jay Fire Safety Expert (in class)
* Contact NYT reporter on the Deutsche Bank Beat
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