by EDGAR SANDOVAL and ERIN EINHORN
More than 800 city buildings are vulnerable to devastating fires like the one that took the lives of two firefighters at the Deutsche Bank building last summer, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer charged Sunday.
Buildings including Grand Central Terminal and the UN Secretariat are exempt from city building codes because they're owned by the state or federal government.
"When it comes to safety, no one is above the law," Stringer said. "Before further tragedies claim lives, we are calling on all organizations that own buildings exempt from the city's codes ... to maintain the strict standards of our local code and to permit fire and safety inspections by New York City."
Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in the Aug. 18, 2007, Deutsche Bank blaze after they were unable to escape the dark, smoky high-rise near Ground Zero that was condemned because of heavy damage on 9/11.
After the fire, investigators discovered that exits had been sealed and a broken standpipe in the basement made it impossible for the firefighters to battle the flames.
The building was exempt from city building codes because it was owned at the time by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a quasi-public state agency.
"We need to stop other people from dying," said Graffagnino's father, Joseph, as he joined Stringer in front of the charred high-rise.
Stringer proposed a five-step plan to prevent similar tragedies, including better cooperation with federal and state agencies.
But Mayor Bloomberg has already proposed going even further.
The mayor is pushing for laws that would require federal and state buildings to comply with city codes - one of 33 recommendations from a city task force formed after the tragedy.
"We certainly welcome the borough president's input," mayoral spokesman Andrew Brent said.
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