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Lawsuit blames bad cremation unit rebuild for mortuary fire

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April 11th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha mortuary and its insurers have sued a Pennsylvania company, alleging that it didn’t properly rebuild a cremation machine blamed for a fire that injured four people. The Jan. 26, 2016, blaze heavily damaged the Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler funeral chapel. The lawsuit was filed last month by Heafey’s corporate entity and Cincinnati Casualty Co. and Cincinnati Indemnity Co. They seek a jury trial and at least $5.75 million from Matthews International Corp., which is based in Pittsburgh.

The bodies and cremains of deceased people that had been in the burning structure later were taken to other mortuaries owned by the company. Co-owner Bill Cutler said Tuesday that the rebuilding is expected to be completed in September.