Philadelphia (CBS)-Today is the 30th anniversary of the fire on the No. 1 Zi Meridian Square. Three Philadelphia firefighters were killed in a fight with the flames in the office building.
The Meridian is still Philadelphia’s most notorious high-rise fire. Thirty years ago this evening, three firefighters were confused by heavy smoke in dozens of stories above the city hall and across the street. They were killed in the fire and dozens of firefighters were also injured and were forced to leave the fire station in search of new jobs.
“We were a member of a search and rescue team and tried to find them. They reported that they were trapped on the 30th floor. Therefore, we went to the 30th floor to search for them and found that they were on the 28th floor.” Michael Jaeger, head of the Philadelphia Fire Camp (Michael Yeager) retired.
When the department issued the fifth alarm, Yeager rushed to the scene and dispatched hundreds of firefighters to try to contain the fire.
Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, the fire in the 500-foot-tall building has risen to 12 alarms.
Firefighters face severe challenges-primary and secondary power services are interrupted, water supply is severely reduced, elevators and backup generators are broken.
Yeager said: “Due to this fire and fire service, all the changes that have occurred over the years, whether it is a pressure reducing valve or electrical equipment, have not been able to rise together with the main electrical equipment and the secondary electrical equipment.”
At the Philadelphia Firefighter Museum, the deaths of three firefighters raised building codes and fire-fighting requirements for buildings such as “One Meridian.”
Brian Anderson, director of the Philadelphia Firefighter’s House Museum, said: “Their sacrifice changed the way high-rise buildings are constructed, including safety factors, and built into fire codes.”
Post time: Mar-12-2021
