also known as One Meridian Plaza, was reported to the Philadelphia Fire Department on February 23, 1991 at approximately 2040 hours and burned for more than 19 hours.

On the night of Saturday, February 23, 1991, fire struck One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On the night of the Meridian fire, the team had become disoriented and reported that they were on the 30th when they were in fact on the 28th.

"I still think about it," Bloomer said. Would I have done what they did?

"It was one of those things that was understood," said Bloomer, who is now entering his 36th year as a firefighter and is assigned to Battalion 4, at 4th and Arch streets. It was to become one of the worst highrise fires in history. The developing blaze covered eight floors resulting in the demise of three fire fighters, injuries to twenty-four firefighters and a civilian and severe destruction to the building. There were no drawn-out goodbyes: Everyone had a job to do. It's always in the back of my mind."

Other changes were more significant, like calling for sprinkler systems on every floor of a high-rise. Operations and logistics were severely hampered by failure of major building operating systems: main electrical power, emergency generator power, and, most important, water pressure from the standpipe system.

"The whole nation looked at this fire and learned from it," Jelenewicz said. The fire changed Bloomer, who was driving Engine 11 that night. With him were Capt. Smoke poured into the air, and broken glass rained down. By the time the 12-alarm fire was declared under control 19 hours later, three firefighters were dead, 12 others were injured and a Center City high-rise was lost.

RELATED SOME OPERATIONAL LESSONS LEARNED FROM… Only later, after the bodies had been removed from the scene, did he learn that they had been found dead on the 28th floor.

Nine floors of the 38-story office building were completely destroyed, causing millions of dollars in damage.

That night, Bloomer recalls, "was a regular night at the firehouse" at 6th and South streets.

It changed the way that fire codes were written, pointing out inefficiencies in the fire-protection design. "When that fire happened, it was on the news all over the world," said Chris Jelenewicz, engineering program manager at the Maryland-based Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

All, Today is the 25th anniversary of the One Meridian Plaza high rise fire in Philadelphia, PA, that claimed the lives of three firefighters and opened the eyes of firefighters across the country to the changes, that most of us never knew, to standpipe systems and the facts that old methods of fighting high-rise fires were no longer … The blaze, 20 years ago today, changed the city's skyline and the way the nation fights fires. It features three firefighter helmets on a granite base and the words: "To sacrifice one's own safety in the service of others requires a courage that is rare.

The Meridian fire was one of the most significant high-rise building fires before 9/11, said Jelenewicz, of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. He began hooking up a hose to a hydrant at 15th and Chestnut while the other three climbed the stairs. A short time later, McAllister radioed that the captain was down and that the firefighters were out of air. The fire had started on the 22nd floor, where a pile of oily rags left behind by a cleaning crew had ignited.

Two rescue teams were dispatched. A memorial to the lost firefighters now stands outside the Residences at the Ritz Carlton, where the Meridian once towered.

About10 p.m., Holcombe radioed commanders that the team had become disoriented in heavy smoke on the 30th floor. Retired Battalion Chief Mike Yeager spoke recently about the fatal fire at One Meridian Plaza 25-years-ago on Feb. 23, 1991.

Dinner was done, and he, McAllister and Chappell were shooting pool.

"I wonder, what if I'd been one of the guys inside? When you visit Clarion Events (and our family of websites), we use cookies to process your personal data in order to customize content and improve your site experience, provide social media features, analyze our traffic, and personalize advertising. There were no sprinklers until the 30th floor. It could have been me. Fire Operations One Meridian Plaza. The call came in about 8:30 p.m. One Meridian Plaza Fire–1991.

By choosing “I Agree”, you understand and agree to Clarion’s Photo by John Axford. Three firefighters died and 24 were injured. It was to become one of the worst highrise fires in history.
When Jack Bloomer and the other firefighters arrived at One Meridian Plaza that cold February night in 1991, flames were encompassing the building more than 20 stories above, leaping from floor to floor. "I was the only one left from my platoon." Rapid fire spread required a massive mobilization of firefighting forces. Some of the changes that stemmed from the tragedy were simple ones, he said: Stairwells were marked with floor numbers so that anyone inside could tell where they were. "It was obvious when we pulled up it was an ugly-looking job," Bloomer, 61, remembered yesterday.

"Nobody knew how to tell me," Bloomer said.
Three firefighters were killed fighting the blaze just south from Philadelphia's City Hall

When the platoon arrived at the scene, Bloomer's job was to stay with the truck because he was the driver. By chance, Bloomer had overheard both calls.

FireCompanies February 24, 2016 No Comments. The fire burned freely until extinguished by automatic sprinklers on an upper floor, fed by department pumpers through the standpipe system. On what began as an uneventful Saturday night twenty years ago, a fire on the 22nd floor of the 38-story Meridian Bank Building, also known as One Meridian Plaza, was reported to the Philadelphia Fire Department on February 23, 1991 at approximately 2040 hours and went on to burned for more than 19 hours. "It's not something you'll ever get over. David Holcombe and Firefighters Phyllis McAllister and James Chappell. The fire started on the twenty-second floor of the thirty eight-story One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia (US Fire Administration, 1991).


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