There will be no criminal charges in the 2014 Back Bay fire that killed two Boston firefighters, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today.
“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,” Conley said in a statement. “This decision in no way detracts from the bravery of their actions or the tragedy of their loss. The standard for criminal prosecution in a case like this is recognizing a grave risk and choosing to run that risk. The investigation revealed actions that were irresponsible and even careless, but not willful, wanton, and reckless as our courts have defined those terms.”
The employees and owner of a Malden metalworking company “acted carelessly but not recklessly,” when they unwittingly sparked a 2014 blaze in the Back Bay that claimed the lives of two Boston firefighters but will not face criminal charges, Conley announced today.
The announcement follows a year-long investigation by police and fire officials into the March 26 fire that consumed a Beacon Street brownstone and claimed the lives of Walsh, a Boston fire lieutenant, and firefighter Kennedy.
Two D&J Ironworks employees accidentally sparked the blaze while installing pre-fabricated wrought-iron railings in the rear of the building, investigators found.
“At some point, the evidence suggests, either a spark from the cutting and grinding or liquid metal runoff from the welding traveled from the work space to a wooden shed,” Conley’s announcement read. “The sparks or slag, the flammable material, and the gale-force winds that day combined to create a fire inside the shed that went undetected by the workmen or anyone else outside.”
After discovering the fire, investigators found the two workers tried to snuff it out with snow before shouting to warn tenants of nearby buildings. They didn’t call 911 because they were unable to get cell service in the rear of the building and they didn’t flee the scene, investigators found.
“This was consistent with records showing text messages the men had sent their employer when they couldn’t get a cell signal,” the announcement read.
“We cannot in good faith seek criminal charges for an accident, even one with consequences so tragically devastating,” Conley said in a statement. “Some 60 years of Massachusetts jurisprudence have made clear that negligence, even gross negligence, is in the hands of our civil courts.”
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