Contractor pays fine for fire that closed Liberty Bridge

Joseph B. Fay Co. of West Deer, the contractor refurbishing the Liberty Bridge, has paid a federal fine for safety violations that led to September’s construction fire that closed the bridge for more than three weeks.

Christopher Robinson, director of the Pittsburgh office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Thursday that Fay paid the $11,224 fine after a meeting with the agency. The fine was near the maximum of $12,471 but was lower because the fire was an accident and Fay has a good safety record.

The firm could have appealed the fine, which was issued for what the agency called a “serious” mistake of not properly protecting flammable material during a steelcutting operation. As part of the $80 million project, an employee was cutting steel on the deck of the bridge Sept. 2 when hot slag fell onto a work platform below, igniting plastic ventilation pipe that was stored there.

The fire burned so hot that it buckled a 30-foot support chord in a key area. As a result of concern the structure could collapse, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed the bridge for 24 days for emergency repairs.

In a related matter, Dan Cessna, PennDOT’s District 11 executive, said Thursday the agency has approved plans for the permanent repair of the bridge. The bridge will remain open for most of the repair process, but there could be a full Saturday closure of about 12 hours at the end of the work when weight is shifted to the new parts.

“It’s a combination of steel