One Meridian Plaza fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fire at One Meridian Plaza was the worst high-rise fire in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania history, as well as the costliest in United States history.
It started on the 22nd floor of the 38-story One Meridian Plaza on Feb 23, 1991, when a pile of linseed oil-soaked rags left by a contractor were ignited accidentally through spontaneous combustion. The blaze, which burned for 19 hours, raged from the 22nd floor to the 30th floor before a sprinkler system installed by a tenant on the 30th floor extinguished the flames. The fire eventually went to 12-alarms and consumed the resources of 51 engine companies, 15 ladder companies, 11 specialized units, and over 300 firefighters. The fire would also claim the lives of three firefighters, and injured two dozen more.
The 38-story building was located between Market and Ranstead Streets on South 15th, in the area of Philadelphia known as "Center City". It was 492 ft tall (150 m) and completed in 1972. It was owned by E/R Partners, a joint venture of the Rubin Organization, a Philadelphia real estate company; Equitable Life Assurance Company of America and a Dutch pension fund. Prior to the fire, it was considered one of the most expensive offices in the city center.
The building was never repaired due to a dispute over fire insurance. The owner's consulting engineers proposed stripping the building to structural steel to just below the 19th floor and reconstructing it at a cost of $250 million. Aetna Corporation (now part of Travelers Group, when in turn merged into Citigroup), the insurer, maintained that the undamaged girders above that level could be used, cutting reconstruction costs to $115 million. Aetna also proposed taking over the reconstruction, as permitted in the language of its insurance policy, and returning it after completion to the owners.[1] [3] The two parties reached an undisclosed settlement in 1997.
Eventually, One Meridian Plaza was demolished floor by floor from 1998 to 1999 to make way for the Residences At The Ritz. Because of the building's proximity to City Hall and adjacent buildings, implosion was not a viable option.
Contents |
[edit] Timeline
| Time | Incident |
|---|---|
| Feb 23 20:23 |
A smoke detector on the 22nd floor was activated |
| 20:27 | The Philadelphia Fire Department receives the call of the fire alarm and dispatches a full box response |
| 20:31 | Engine 43 is the first fire company on scene and reports heavy smoke and fire about half-way up the building |
| 20:33 | Battalion 5 orders the 2nd alarm to be struck |
| Feb 24 01:17 |
A helicopter assisting finds the window broken by the missing firefighters on the 28th floor |
| 02:15 | The second search team finds the three missing firefighters and brings them to the triage on the 20th floor where they're pronounced DOA |
| 02:15 | Companies start manually deploying 5" supply line up the #1 stairwell on the west to combat the low pressure issue |
| 02:21 | 12th Alarm struck to assist in the LDH stretching on the #2 stairwell in the center |
| 04:55 | A third supply line is ordered up the #3 stairwell to the east, this was cancelled at the 17th floor around 06:00 |
| 07:00 | The order to evacuate the building was given due to the possibility of a pancake structural collapse, and was complete by 07:30 |
| 15:01 | The fire is declared under control |
[edit] Engine 11
Engine 11 was assigned with finding an opening or hatch to assist in ventilation due to the heavy smoke condition banking down the stairwells and lower floors. As they exited the center stairwell on the 30th floor they radioed the incident commander advising him that they had become disoriented in the heavy smoke. As they were being directed to one of the other stairwells over the radio, the captain of Engine 11 asked if he could break a window. The crew said the captain was down shortly after, and the order to break a window was then given. As this was going on, a search and rescue team was organized to search for the trapped firefighters. The search team was able to make it to the floor Engine 11 was reported to be on, however they were unable to locate the missing firefighters. As the search team returned to the roof of the building they too became disoriented on the 38th floor in a mechanical room. A second search team was organized and located the first search team, leading them to safety.[2]
The three firefighters were eventually found after a helicopter assisting in the effort located a broken window on the 28th floor in the southeast corner. The rescue effort was put together at 0117, and the firefighters were located at 0215. They were then brought to the medical triage area on the 20th floor where all resuscitation efforts failed and they were pronounced dead at the scene. When the firefighters started to make their way to up the stairwell, they were wearing full protective gear, including SCBAs, as well as the equipment they would need to perform their task of ventilation.[3]
[edit] Victims
| Name | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|
| David P. Holcombe | Captain | 52 |
| Phyllis McAllister | Firefighter | 43 |
| James A. Chappell | Firefighter | 29 |
