It started with anger over a policy change at ground zero and culminated in an ugly protest with punches and barricades thrown. Yesterday, the sad story of 
the Fire Department at war with the mayor who loves it appeared to come to an end. The battle was fought over how many New York City firefighters should be
assigned to the grim task of removing human remains at the World Trade Center. Yesterday, the size of that contingent, which the city reduced two weeks ago
while citing safety concerns, was restored to its past strength. But not, it appears, because of the threats of unions or the approval of safety experts. Rather,
it was because of a soft-spoken retired firefighter whose son is buried in the rubble. Yesterday, as that firefighter, Lee Ielpi, told his story at the news 
conference where the changes were announced, Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, the object of firefighters' wrath at the most painful time in the 
department's history, bowed his head and wept.

Mr. Ielpi worked for the Fire Department for 26 years. His sons followed him; one now works in Brooklyn, the other died in the World Trade Center, leaving a
wife and two small children. Mr. Ielpi wants to recover the remains of his son Jonathan, who was 29 and worked in Squad 288 in Queens, and he doesn't want 
any firefighters to get hurt in the process of finding them. He thought there was a way to do both. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani listened to Mr. Ielpi's appeal in an 
emotional meeting with the widows and parents of firefighters on Monday. The mayor told him to go with Mr. Von Essen to ground zero and figure out how to do 
what he wanted… 

Last week, a group of firefighters and widows of those lost in the rubble announced the formation of the Sept. 11 Widows' and Victims' Families Association, led
by Marian Fontana, widow of Firefighter David Fontana from Squad 1 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Suddenly, the embattled families had a voice outside of the unions,
and the mayor and the fire commissioner agreed to listen to their concerns. Mr. Von Essen described two meetings, one last week with eight widows and another
with 75 family members on Monday. At the larger meeting, families spoke about their need to find remains. The medical examiner answered bluntly that many of
the bodies disintegrated in the terror attack. Then Mr. Ielpi, who was a highly decorated and respected member of the department, spoke up. ''He said he 
believed in safety and that he did not want to see any more firefighters lose their life,'' said one person who attended the meetings. ''But he added that he 
thought they could put more firefighters there and that they could run the operation better. I think it was because  he spoke authoritatively and intelligently, 
and that impressed the mayor.'' 

On Tuesday, Mr. Ielpi visited the site and came up with a list of recommendations, many of which the fire commissioner found sound, said an official who    
attended the meeting. Mr. Ielpi said yesterday that he believed the conflict need never have occurred. ''If the families would have started this group two weeks
after the disaster, all this could have been avoided,'' he said. But then again, he said, there was no precedent. ''It was a subject that was so monstrous. We 
didn't know how to deal with it."

Back to Media Archives