CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez is taking legal action against the owner of a South Side building where two Chicago firefighters died fighting a fire last year.
A roof collapse in the abandoned building killed 47-year-old Edward Stringer and 34-year-old Corey Ankum, and injured 19 other firefighters on Dec. 22.
Alvarez plans to announce Wednesday that her office is filing a criminal contempt of court action against the building owner for failing to comply with court-ordered requirements to repair and secure the vacant building.
The building had been cited for sagging ceiling tiles, rotted roof trusses and other safety violations, and its owners agreed more than a year before the fire to make repairs.
Documents show the abandoned building, a former laundry, had 14 code violations in 2007.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
