No Charges to Be Filed in Fatal High-Rise Fire
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PHILADELPHIA — No criminal charges will be filed in a fire that killed three firefighters and shut down a 38-story office building 10 months ago.
The fire at One Meridian Plaza on Feb. 23 was ignited by oily rags that had been improperly stored by construction workers.
“We have concluded that the failures in One Meridian’s fire safety systems would not support the filing of any criminal charges,” Dist. Atty. Lynn Abraham said Wednesday. “These failures were a series of tragic coincidences that no one could have anticipated.”
After the fire swept through offices, it knocked out the electrical system and all emergency equipment. It burned for nearly 19 hours, gutting nine floors.
The building, which had 27 tenants and 2,500 employees, remains closed.
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