It's unfortunate that this happened, and perhaps the transition could have been handled better. Still, at some level this was bound to happen. I used to work in search and rescue with the US Coast Guard, and as hard as it is to accept, if some don't survive there inevitably comes a time when the search ends, and the salvage operation begins. Grieving people don't like to accept this, but it's got to be that way.

The first priority in any search and rescue/recovery operation is always to make sure nobody else is harmed; to do that, you have to control the area of the operation. I heard Giuliani say that the project (not the people) was getting out of control, and it's not hard to believe that he's right. The firefighters were and are true heroes, but they also were and are emotionally wracked people dealing with catastrophic loss. You can't just say that no restrictions will be placed on their numbers and participation.

I'm sorry this happened, and I'm glad that the City is trying to handle it sensitively. But this is a big, complex, and still dangerous operation. Giuliani's job is to make sure it's in the right hands, and to give the people running it the ability to exercise control. Once the freshness of this fades a little, I think most of the firefighters (who also have to deal with public safety issues during dangerous operations) will probably understand that.