Jun 5, 2009 6:38 am US/Eastern
I-Team: Settlement In Fatal West Roxbury Fire
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Two firefighters were killed in the August 29, 2007 fire at the Tai Ho restaurant.
Boston Fire Dept.
There is a settlement in the deadly fire at a West Roxbury restaurant that killed two Boston firefighters.
The I-Team has learned the families of Warren Payne and Paul Cahill will be paid millions.
According to WBZ sources, it's a $2.2 million settlement.
That money will go to the Cahill and Payne families, to another firefighter who was injured and some to the city of Boston.
It was back on August 29, 2007 when the alarm sounded that sent firefighters to the Tai Ho restaurant.
Within minutes of responding to the fire, Payne and Cahill were dead and several others injured.
Grease fueled a blaze that exploded into a massive fireball.
Payne was caught is a fireball and Cahill got tangled and buried in debris in the kitchen.
In the end, the families believe they were all preventable errors that proved to be fatal.
In the wake of the fire, multiple lawsuits were filed.
Sources tell the I-Team those lawsuits were settled for a total of $2.2 million.
According to court documents, the Payne and Cahill families and another firefighter who was injured blame Continental Realty, the company that owned the building, for the dangerous and defective conditions inside the restaurant that led to death and injury.
They allege the restaurant failed to properly inspect, manage and operate its business and the cleaning company and its owner failed to properly clean the grease.
Not long after the fire, WBZ learned Cahill had alcohol in his system and Payne had traces of cocaine.
The defendants in the lawsuits tried to get the autopsy reports of the firefighters, but they were not released by the medical examiner.
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