Philadelphia firefighters fought the blaze but struggled due to a lack of power in the skyscraper and insufficient water pressure from the building's standpipes.

Firefighting efforts inside the building were eventually abandoned, due to fears the structure would collapse.

Ten sprinklers held back the fire until it started burning itself out and was finally brought under control.

An investigation of the fire, led by the Office of the Fire Marshal of the City of Philadelphia with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) national investigative response team, determined the blaze started after linseed oil–soaked rags ignited.

Businesses near the empty high-rise closed or moved, and the city brought the owners to court to resolve the building's fate.

A joint venture of the Rubin Organization and Equitable Life Assurance Company of America, E/R Partners bought the property for $143 million.

[8][9] In 1989 a Dutch pension fund, Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds, paid $120 million to enter E/R Partners with a sixty-five percent stake in the building.

[4] Workers had been refinishing woodwork in a vacant office earlier in the day, and left a pile of rags soaked in linseed oil on the floor.

The linseed oil oxidized and generated enough heat to ignite the rags, which then set fire to other solvents nearby.

The engineer escaped after radioing to a security guard in the lobby to recall the elevator using fire safety controls there.

Engine 43 was the first firefighting unit to arrive at the scene and reported seeing heavy smoke and flames in one of the windows.

By the time they reached the 11th floor, the building had lost power after the heat from the blaze damaged electrical cables.

In addition, the transformers that provided power to the neighboring Girard Trust Building were in the basement of One Meridian Plaza.

[4] The area around One Meridian Plaza was cleared of pedestrians and firefighting personnel because of falling glass and debris.

Rescue attempts continued until helicopter operations were suspended due to heavy smoke and thermal drafts caused by the blaze.

With inadequate water pressure coming from the standpipes, firefighters stretched hoses up the building's stairwells to help fight the fire.

Under extreme fire exposure the beams and girders sagged and twisted and cracks appeared in the concrete floors.

Thermal expansion of the steel frame caused some of the granite panels to be dislodged from the building's facade.

[12] The 20-story Morris Building and several three-story shops behind One Meridian Plaza on Chestnut Street were damaged by falling debris and sat unused until they were demolished in 2000.

[15][16] The roads around the building were closed for months after the fire, including a portion of two of Philadelphia's major streets, Broad and Market.

[2] On December 18, Mayor Wilson Goode signed a law requiring every nonresidential building 75 feet (23 m) tall or taller have sprinklers installed by 1997.

[13] Lawsuits on behalf of sixteen people and businesses claiming losses as a result of the fire were filed shortly after the disaster.

While not admitting any liability, the $15 million minus legal fees was paid by E/R Partners and was meant for uninsured losses for businesses and workers in One Meridian Plaza and the surrounding damaged buildings.

[18] The fire left the Center City district a commercial void; most major stores in the area closed and property values fell.

[13] In 1996, the City of Philadelphia sued E/R Partners, asserting that the building was an environmental hazard and should be demolished or repaired.

[3] At the time of the demolition it was the third tallest habitable building ever razed and is currently the seventh, ranking after the World Trade Center's twin towers, the Singer Building, and the original Seven World Trade Center in New York City; the Morrison Hotel in Chicago; and 130 Liberty Street in New York City.

[23] Spencer and Mahoney settled their dispute in March 2006 and construction on One Meridian's 48-story replacement, the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, began in May.