LOST CERTIFICATION: The factory where 112 garment workers died in a fire should have been shut down months ago. The fire department refused to renew the certification it needed to operate, a top fire official told The Associated Press.

EXPANDING: The factory's owner told AP that just three of the factory's eight floors were legal. He was building a ninth.

THE BACKDROP: A factory must be certified to operate, but the department usually gives factory owners some time to upgrade conditions. If they fail to do so, the department can file a court case to get it closed down. But it rarely does.