by the mayor place inadequate emphasis on ways to minimize risks to public, say firefighters
The firefighters unions are expected to oppose sweeping post-9/11 changes in the city building code that they say do not put enough emphasis on firefighter and occupant safety.
A City Council committee is expected to hear testimony today from the unions on a modified version of the International Building Code, which the Bloomberg administration hopes to make the new code.
Another code, proposed by the National Fire Prevention Association, would require the city to take firefighter and occupant safety into greater account, the unions claim.
A panel appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg 14 months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack recommended the International Building Code proposal be adopted with modifications.
Technical consultants to the Uniformed Firefighters Association, representing rank and file firefighters, have looked at both codes and concluded that "the NFPA code is better at protecting the health and safety of firefighters and the people we serve," Stephen Cassidy, the union's president, said.
The national code requires columns, beams and other weight-bearing parts of a high-rise to be able to withstand fire for four hours, while the International Building Code required two to three hours, according to Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
Experts in fire and building safety have said the International Building Code also places an unsafe reliance on sprinklers instead of fire-resistant building materials.
"There's always pressure to build less expensive, and I understand that," Gorman said. "But the City Council has a chance here to write a code that places a premium on safety."
Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster said in May that the International Building Code would streamline the existing city code. Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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