No charges to be filed in blaze that killed two firefighters

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Suffolk County prosecutors will not press criminal charges against the owners of the West Roxbury restaurant where two Boston firefighters died in a blaze last August.

District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today that a criminal investigation of the deaths determined that conditions at the Tai Ho restaurant did not warrant charges of criminal negligence or manslaughter.

Firefighters Paul J. Cahill and Warren Payne died Aug. 29 in a massive fireball fueled by grease that had built up in the Centre Street restaurant's kitchen exhaust system.

"As in every death investigation, our legal obligation in this case was specifically to determine whether any crime was committed: that is, whether any action by any individual or individuals rose to the level of wanton and reckless conduct, causing the deaths of these two firefighters," Conley said in a statement

"After a complete and thorough review of all of the evidence, I have determined that there is no basis for criminal charges to issue," he said.

The conclusion of Conley's investigation paves the way for the release of autopsy and toxicology reports to the Boston Fire Department and its special board of inquiry charged with investigating the deaths.

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser publicly assailed the board last month for not obtaining the reports before issuing their report on the fire.

Two government officials briefed on the autopsy reports told the Globe in October that they indicated Payne had traces of cocaine in his system and Cahill had a blood-alcohol-content of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit for drivers in Massachusetts.

"I'm glad to hear that the district attorney has completed his investigation," Fraser said yesterday. "We hope to review the investigation and autopsy reports and then we'll determine what our next steps will be."

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