Pittsburgh fire chief: Bridge crew lacked permit before fire

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A contractor didn’t obtain a key safety permit before welding caused plastic pipe and a construction tarp to burn on the Liberty Bridge last month, resulting in a 24-day shutdown of a primary artery into downtown Pittsburgh, the city’s fire chief said.

Officials with Joseph B. Fay Co. acknowledge they didn’t have the permit for “hot” work – like welding – but said that’s because city officials never told the company it needed one during a meeting on the bridge reconstruction project months before the fire Sept. 2 fire. The company also said fire Chief Darryl Jones wasn’t at the meeting, but sent a representative.

Jones told KDKA-TV that the $16 permit would have required a fire inspection, and for a “fire watcher” to be present with an extinguisher near any welding or other hazardous work.

But Fay said in an emailed statement today that it did have a fire watch on the bridge equipped with hoses and extinguishers when the fire occurred.