CCTV, the owner, and major state broadcasting company, apologized for their mistake.  Some of my favorite quotes of the article:

CCTV said it was deeply grieved “for the severe damage the fire caused to the country’s property.”

CCTV did cover the fire outside its own new headquarters, but it was not the top story.

“According to the Beijing fire department, this fire occurred because the person in charge of the construction of the new building project of CCTV, without permission, hired staff to set off fireworks that violated regulations,” the broadcaster said in a statement on its Web site.

Lucky Mandarin Oriental doesn’t actually own the building, but “[they have] signed a long term contract to manage the hotel and has no ownership interest in the building.”

This guy is going to jail:

Xu Wei - Construction Director for CCTV

Caijing’s article. Good information.