January 15, 2008 -- The standpipe of the ill-fated Deutsche Bank building was likely removed because it was painted the wrong color, The Post has learned, leaving firefighters without any water to combat the blaze.
Why the standpipe was removed from the condemned 130 Liberty St. building has been a central question hovering over the Aug. 18 inferno that exposed a litany of regulatory failures, killed two firefighters, and is the subject of an exhaustive criminal probe.
But it may have been removed by a demolition crew simply because it was never painted "fire-engine red," as city regulations dictate.
"There would be no reason to take the pipe out," said a source closely involved with the project who asked for anonymity because he may be a subject of the investigation. "It wasn't red. It was a dark green color. It wasn't even the right color."
Another source confirmed the standpipe wasn't red. Representatives from the Bovis Lend Lease, the general contractor, the John Galt Corp., the subcontractor, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the government agency in charge of the demolition, declined to comment.
Republished with permission from the New York Post
