Anger over Sept 11 looting claims

Angry New York firefighters today criticised a book that accuses some of their colleagues of looting after the September 11 terror attacks.

Union leaders labelled reporter William Langewiesche work America’s Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Centre as “disgusting“.

The book, which is already on the New York Times’ bestseller list, alleges that several firemen took advantage of the chaos near Ground Zero to steal from shops.

Mr Langewiesche had unlimited access to the area around the collapsed World Trade Centre, which was officially closed to the press during the clean-up operation.

He said the looting was “shadowy and widespread“, and described one instance of finding dozens of new jeans from The Gap – still tagged, folded and stacked – inside the cab of a fire truck pulled from the rubble.

“It was hard to avoid the conclusion that the looting had begun even before the first tower fell, and that while hundreds of doomed firemen had climbed through the wounded buildings, this particular crew had been engaged in something else entirely.”

One office building near ground zero was “systematically rifled for valuables” in looting that included the “brazen” theft of computers, he wrote.

Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said the book was packed with “lies, distortions and errors“.

“For him to insinuate that a firefighter got off the truck on September 11 and told his captain, ’I’ll be right with you Cap, let me go down and grab a couple pair of jeans and I’ll be right back inside,’ is disgusting.”

Mr Gorman has organised pickets to protest outside bookstores and museums where the writer is speaking and signing copies of the book.

Mr Langewiesche yesterday defended the accuracy of his book and insisted he was not out to expose looters.

“I have nothing against firefighters, I’m much in admiration of firefighters.”

But he said the uproar came as no surprise, adding: “This is very, very emotional territory.”

Meanwhile today, victims’ families attacked a series of trading cards honouring “Heroes of the World Trade Centre” which the publisher hopes to sell through mainstream retailers.

The cards picture 170 people, both living and dead, and describes each of their September 11 stories.

Publisher Kingsley Barham told the New York Post: “It puts a human face on an international tragedy.”

But Pearl Maynard, who lost her firefighter son Keithroy in the attack, said the card “cheapens his life“.