Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the One Meridian Plaza Fire in Philadelphia, one of the most significant highrise fires in United States’ history. On February 23, 1991, a fire in the 38-story Meridian Bank Building started due to linseed oil-soaked rags left in a vacant office by contractors. The fire claimed the lives of three Philadelphia firefighters and gutted eight floors of a 38-story fire-resistive building causing an estimated $100 million in direct property loss and an equal or greater loss through business interruption. Litigation resulting from the fire amounts to an estimated $4 billion in civil damage claims. The building was eventually demolished. The US Fire Administration report on the fire (link provided below) states “The ultimate message delivered by this fire is the proof that automatic sprinklers are the most effective and reliable means at our disposal to protect highrise buildings.”
Please mark this tragic anniversary by ensuring your site’s fire protection systems are properly designed, installed, and maintained. When those requirements are not satisfied, the results can be devastating.
Thank you for participating in the Voluntary Protection Program.
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