1 Meridian Plaza brought to light many issues that can be associated with high rise fires. Perhaps one of the more highlighted findings from this fire was the effectiveness of automatic sprinklers. Ultimately, it was the sprinklers on the 30th floor which contained the fire, leading to it burning out. Some further reading on the fire and findings:
One Meridian Plaza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://failures.wikispaces.com/One+Meridian+Plaza,+Philadelphia,+PA
ONE MERIDIAN PLAZA
I also was talking with one of our senior dispatchers who was supervising that night. Due to the high alarm level (12), and the large number of resources on scene (51 engines, 15 ladders, 11 specialized units and over 300 firefighters), Philadelphia Fire Board contacted Montgomery County to see if additional could be sent to cover stations. This was, and still is, highly unusual as Philly never calls for outside help, especially from volunteer departments. The senior dispatcher asked for them to call back in 15 minutes. He then proceeded to check with the chiefs of some of the volunteer departments that boardered the city. Philly Fire Board called back and the senior dispatcher gave them rundown of "30 engines, 11 ladders, 2 heavy rescues and 2 utilities available." Upon hearing this, the Philly dispatcher became concerned and stated "Whoa whoa whoa we don't want to strip your county also," to which the senior dispatcher replied "We haven't even begun to scratch the surface..." It ended up that the additional units weren't needed, but certainly showed the capabilities of the volunteer departments in those days.