by Brian A. McDonald

The house struck by a fire Sept. 2 at 4 Foskett St., where four flooring workers were caught in a blaze that killed two and severely injured the other two, will be demolished Thursday.

The demolition was delayed by pending investigations by various agencies and insurance companies, which are now complete, said Fire Chief Kevin W. Kelleher.

The chief said there will be no criminal charges resulting from the fire, because the state fire marshal’s office has ruled that the fire was and accident.

There were no violations of the state’s fire code, because the code does not regulate the flooring business, he said.

The exact cause of the fire’s ignition may never be pinpointed. The highest probability is an oven pilot. The other probable possibilities are the refrigerator’s compressor engine coming on or from one of the men flicking a light switch in the bathroom, Kelleher said.

The chief said there was no evidence or report of an explosion, rather a horrific combination of poor ventilation and the built-up of fumes from the lacquer sealant, which once sparked, erupted into a fireball that instantly filled the entire vapor space. In addition, the men had the sealant chemicals embedded in their clothing that caught fire.

There has been some question whether the windows to the apartment were open, Kelleher said. “Certainly, they were not open sufficiently to properly ventilate the space.”

It is a common practice in the flooring business, in order to produce a pristine finish, to close the windows when the workers apply the final sealant to keep out dust and other materials, he said.

Kelleher said he understood that the practice is particularly common among Vietnamese flooring workers, who have a reputation among contractors and tradespeople for extremely high quality and fast work.

The true fault lies with the lack of training and use of proper procedures. Hard-working people who are just trying to support their families are victims of accidents because simple steps were not taken, he said. “The fire marshal showed me pictures of the labels on the cans that had instructions for opening windows and shutting off pilot lights and electricity.”