A 2009 fire at a casino in Joliet, Ill., has sparked a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against six companies involved in renovations and additions to the structure at the time of the blaze.

On Tuesday, attorneys for the former Empress Casino filed an $83.5-million suit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that contractor W.E. O'Neil, Chicago, should not have allowed welders to perform work in the casino's kitchen, the source of the fire, due to the presence of combustible cooking residue in kitchen duct work.