Authorities have ruled the death of a South Side woman — killed when a fire broke out in her basement apartment at Carson Towers in February — an accident.
The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office announced its finding Tuesday, saying Teresa Walker, 65, died of thermal and inhalation injuries.
Ms. Walker was killed in the overnight fire on Feb. 6. The fire was extinguished quickly and officials described damage caused by the fire as moderate.
Her death happened in the wake of citywide debate about whether sprinkler systems should be mandatory in buildings taller than 75 feet.
Carson Towers, a seven-story building on East Carson Street, has sprinklers in its common areas, but did not have sprinklers in individual apartment units.
In February, Pittsburgh fire Chief Darryl Jones said sprinklers would have likely saved Ms. Walker.
“I doubt there would have been a fatality if the unit had been sprinklered,” Chief Jones said.
A sprinkler requirement first adopted by the city in 1990 applies to new and substantially renovated high-rises, but leaves out older tall buildings. In September, City Council introduced legislation that would make sprinkler systems in all high-rise building mandatory. In October, a vote on the measure was postponed after council received complaints, mostly over the costs of updating buildings to make them compliant. By November, council shelved the legislation indefinitely after a public hearing in which critics complained that the bill was too broad, too costly and too rushed.
Chief Jones said the sprinkler systems are important regardless of the materials used to construct the building.
“Everyone believes, because [a] building is made of concrete and steel, they’re safe from fire,” he said. But “it’s not the building. It’s the contents of your residence that creates the problem” and increases risks.
Artificial materials in household goods throw off a lot of energy and toxic gases when they burn, and occupants typically have about three minutes to escape once a fire starts, Chief Jones said.
“If you don’t make it out in those three minutes, you won’t make it out,” he said.
According to a public safety spokesman, investigators blamed the fire on an unattended cigarette.
First Published: June 11, 2019, 8:08 p.m.
