One Meridian Plaza Fire
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The fire at One Meridian Plaza was the worst in Philadelphia history and started on the 22nd floor of the 38-story Meridian Bank Building 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. 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 them first search team, and got them to safety.
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, and all resuscitation efforts failed and they were pronounced dead at the scene. When they 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.
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 firefighterson 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] The Firefighters
| Name | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|
| David P. Holcombe | Captain | 52 |
| Phyllis McAllister | Firefighter | 43 |
| James A. Chappell | Firefighter | 29 |
[edit] Reference
US Fire Administration Official Report[1]
[edit] External Links
A Vacant Tower in Philadelphia Casts a Shadow The New York Times
iklimnet.com article
