Wolf Urges Safety Probe Of Baghdad Embassy

The Government Accountability Office should "initiate a full and thorough investigation" of allegations that the firefighting systems at the new U.S. Embassy complex under construction in Baghdad have potential safety problems, a senior lawmaker said yesterday.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (Va.), ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee panel that handles funding for the State Department, wrote Comptroller General David M. Walker to request the inquiry and to ask that initial findings of the review be provided to the Appropriations Committee in "no later than 45 days" because of "the importance of providing security for dedicated and professional personnel in Iraq."

Wolf also wrote a separate letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, notifying her of his GAO request and emphasizing that she must get involved in the issue. "I strongly urge you to investigate these allegations," Wolf wrote.

Wolf said he requested the GAO probe because of a report in The Washington Post last Saturday quoting State Department officials "asserting significant life safety risks associated with the newly constructed U.S. embassy in Baghdad," which will be the biggest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world. While construction has been substantially completed, documents and interviews suggest that safety concerns had been dismissed in the rush to finish the $736 million project.

A team of top fire-safety engineers from State's bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations is being dispatched shortly to examine the complex, officials said yesterday. State Department experts are concerned about potential failures in the suppression system and substandard wiring in the fire detection and control systems.