| Rudy, firefighters feud | |
| Group, already fuming over Ground Zero curbs, irate as he skips forum | |
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Rudy Giuliani never fails to cast firefighters as his heroes, but the nation's largest firefighters union all but declared war on him yesterday after he backed out of a forum for presidential hopefuls.
His withdrawal from the International Association of Fire Fighters forum exposed simmering tensions between the former mayor and city fire unions over his decision in November 2001 to limit FDNY personnel at Ground Zero.
Before Giuliani's decision, hundreds of firefighters were allowed to stay at Ground Zero to dig for remains of their 343 missing comrades, an intensely emotional quest.
But citing safety concerns, Giuliani decided on Nov. 2, 2001, to limit the number of FDNY searchers to 25 - touching off brief but furious scuffles between the NYPD and the FDNY and earning Giuliani the lasting animosity of many city fire officers.
Lingering resentment from that moment were laid bare this week in a letter that was drafted but not sent by city union officials, who were trying to exclude Giuliani, a Republican, from the planned presidential forum in Washington next week.
They failed. Giuliani was invited and agreed Monday to attend, only to say no two days later after the letter began to circulate more widely.
"The disrespect that he exhibited to our 343 fallen FDNY brothers, their families and our New York leadership in the wake of that tragic day has not been forgiven or forgotten," reads the draft.
The letter could ultimately prove damaging to Giuliani, for whom 9/11 remains a defining moment. He has even used firehouses as friendly backdrops for campaign events.
IAFF spokesman Jeff Zack said yesterday that, following Giuliani's decision to back out of the forum, the full letter would be e-mailed to all 280,000 members - representing 85% of the nation's firefighters - with some additional explanation of the dustup.
"The events of November 2001, we think, showed the true character of Rudy Giuliani," Zack said, "and we are going to make sure the firefighters of this country know that story."
Aides of the former mayor said prior commitments - specifically fund-raisers in Houston and New York - had forced him to back out of Wednesday's forum.
"We look forward to future events and an ongoing conversation with America's firefighters," said Tim Brown, who heads Firefighters for Rudy, a campaign offshoot.
The IAFF event is expected to be the first forum to include almost every major candidate from both parties, including Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, as well as Republican John McCain.
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