ICYMI: No Criminal Charges Filed For Deadly 2014 Beacon St. Fire

No criminal charges will be pressed against D&J Ironworks for a nine-alarm Back Bay fire that ended the lives of two Boston firefighters, according to a statement from Suffolk District Attorney.

A yearlong investigation revealed that while carelessness caused a pair of welders to accidentally start the fire at 298 Beacon St. on March 26, 2014, their actions did not constitute reckless or knowing endangerment of human life - hence, no involuntary manslaughter charges.

However, authorities emphasize that they do not mean to diminish the pair of fallen firefighters by backing off from criminal charges.

“Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy made the ultimate sacrifice while saving lives and property from a fire that engulfed an entire building in the middle of a residential neighborhood,” said Suffolk County D.A. Daniel F. Conley, in a statement to the media.

“This decision in no way detracts from the bravery of their actions or the tragedy of their loss.”

A Patch report from the time indicates that while D&J won’t face manslaughter charges, they’ve already garnered 10 citations from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, amounting to a grand total of $58,000 in fines.

The D.A.’s findings show the catastrophe began when the two D&J employees inadvertently dropped a spark or a bit of melted iron on a wooden shed connecting 296 Beacon to 298 Beacon while cutting iron railings at the former address.

The shed was old, rotting, therefore highly flammable, and had likely been burning for as much as two and a half hours before anyone noticed.

Upon observing the blaze, the welders futilely tried to douse it with snow. While they neglected to use a nearby fire extinguisher, the D.A. determined the fire had grown past the point where it would’ve made a difference.

The workers did what they could to warn tenants to exit the premises. They said lack of cell phone reception prevented them from calling 9-1-1, and authorities have deemed that to be an entirely feasible statement.

Previous reports accused the workmen of speeding away from the scene of the disaster, but the D.A. says photographs place them at 298 Beacon after firefighters arrived on the scene.

“We cannot in good faith seek criminal charges for an accident, even one with consequences so tragically devastating,” said Conley. “Some 60 years of Massachusetts jurisprudence have made clear that negligence, even gross negligence, is in the hands of our civil courts.”

Image: Patch File photo

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