YORK, Pa. — The family members of two York City firefighters who died in the 2018 collapse of the former Weaver Organ & Piano factory have reached a confidential settlement with the building's owner and an engineer, court records show.
The assistant fire chief and another firefighter who survived the collapse are also included in the settlement, which is pending court approval.
On May 19, Common Pleas Judge Clyde W. Vedder signed an order allowing a petition for approval of the settlement and distribution of the proceeds to be filed under seal, but Vedder has not yet ruled on whether to approve the agreement.
Firefighters Ivan Flanscha and Zachary Anthony were killed in the building collapse, which occurred on March 22, 2018. The building had been consumed by a fire the previous day, and York City firefighters were still cleaning up hot spots.
Flanscha and Anthony were on the fourth floor of the building when it collapsed. Both later died of their injuries.
Assistant Fire Chief Greg Altland and firefighter Erik Swanson were also injured, but both survived.
In 2020, Flanscha's wife and Anthony's mother filed a lawsuit in York County Court, naming Carney Engineering Group and its president, Josh Carney, as defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Carney's firm told the firefighters the building was structurally safe to enter.
They later sued the building's owner, Matthew Steinkamp, and the construction foreman and superintendents on the site.
Swanson and Altland, along with their wives, took similar legal action that year.
The defendants all denied any wrongdoing in the case, according to court documents.
Because Vedder's ruling that the settlement's proceeds can be distributed under seal, the details of the settlement are unlikely to be made public, should the settlement eventually be approved.