Investigators said Friday that locked or blocked exits contributed to the death toll at a food processing plant where 25 people died, and sent the findings to the district attorney for a criminal investigation.
Two fire exits couldn't be used during Tuesday's fire at the Imperial Food Products chicken processing plant, said Tim Bradley, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Insurance.His report said the building did not have automatic detection sprinkler systems. He also said fire doors did not meet national safety standards, and the sprawling building had only one fire extinguisher.
Twelve of the victims had tried to escape through a locked door and then a blocked loading dock before winding up in a cooler that had no exit, the report said. Their bodies were found in the cooler.
Bradley conducted the investigation at the request of the mayor, who turned it over to the Richmond County district attorney's office.
"I don't want this issue glossed over," Mayor Abbie Covington said. "If there are sufficient grounds for criminal charges, I want them filed."
She said she believed there was sufficient cause for a criminal investigation.