FDNY helps fight fire high up in One WTC

Firefighters responded to the 89th floor of One World Trade Center Saturday to help construction workers put out a smoldering fire in some wood decking.

The fire was a small one and never progressed to the point where it posed a threat to life or property, but its location high in the clouds, on the site of the Sept. 11 attacks, made it anything but routine.

The FDNY said it got the call for help at 7:15 a.m. Workers at the unfinished tower initially used fire extinguishers and a hose to douse the burning plywood themselves, but firefighters were still on the scene wetting down the area an hour later.

Pat Foye, executive director of the Port Authority, which owns the skyscraper, said there were no serious injuries or structural damage and that construction work hadn't been halted.

One firefighter was treated for a back injury, according to a fire department spokesman.

The skyscraper is already over 1,200 feet high, with a few hundred feet more to go until it reaches its full height. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the tower on June 14 to get a briefing on construction.

-- AP