by Ari Paul
Last week's arrest of an engineer accused of lying about make substandard alterations to a building involved in a fatal fire made Uniformed Fire Officers Association President John J. McDonnell hope that the public spotlight might shine on an issue of concern: the ability of engineers and architects to self-certify structural alternations without government scrutiny.
Engineer Jose Vargas pleaded not guilty to perjury charges March 3, saying that he did not lie about the structural integrity of a Bronx discount store, where while fighting a blaze in 2006, Probationary Firefighter Michael Reilly and Lieut. Howard Carpluk Jr. were killed after the floor beneath them collapsed.
'Process is a Failure'
"The self-certification process is a failure because it potentially places money ahead of public safety," Mr. McDonnell, a Battalion Chief, said in a March 7 phone interview. "The Fire Department may have to look very closely and alter its tactical plans since our tactical plans are based on structural elements in each different type of building, and our expectations are that these structural elements will stand up to the devastation of fire for a specific period of time."
He continued, "However, if these engineers and architects are going to come in and alter these existing structures with inferior products or structural elements, then the integrity of that building has been compromised and standard operating procedures for the department are also compromised to the point where the incident commander can no longer have confidence in that building's ability to withstand fire."
Sally Regenhard, the founder of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, believed the arrest was a step towards improving the self-certification process.
'No Accountability'
"The larger question is, except for this past incident we've had so many cases of buildings that were flawed and people getting injured and killed, and I've never heard of anyone being held accountable or responsible until now," she said. "What about the powerful people and the powerful construction companies that certainly have been part of the disasters and failures in buildings? I'd like to see the power brokers being held as accountable and responsible as single individuals."
The UFOA leader noted that self-certification was a process developed under the Giuliani administration to expedite building development. He believed Mayor Bloomberg was committed to undoing some of the damage.
"I think the Bloomberg administration sees what's going on here, and hopefully they're taking more steps," said Mr. McDonnell. "And when they do find people who have taken liberties with the self-certification process, they have punished them severely."
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