Investigators are seeking answers as to why safety doors failed to close when a fire broke out in a Bronx high-rise, allowing thick smoke to swirl through the building and killing 17 people including eight children. According to an Associated Press news report, this was the deadliest blaze in the city in more than three decades and was sparked by a malfunctioning electric space heater on Jan. 9.
While the flames from the fire only damaged a small part of the building, the smoke that poured through the apartment’s open door ended up turning its stairwells into “dark, ash-choked death traps,” the AP reports. It was tragic that the stairs were the only means for residents to escape from the building, which was too tall for fire escapes.
Issues with the Doors
The City’s Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told the AP that the apartment’s front door and a door on the 15th floor should have been self-closing and should have stopped the spread of smoke. However, the doors stayed fully open. Investigators are looking into whether the doors failed mechanically.
The heavy smoke caused severe smoke inhalation injuries, blocking some residents from escaping and incapacitating others as they attempted to get out. Firefighters carried out limp children and gave them oxygen and continued to make rescues even after their oxygen supplies ran out.
Experts say a closed door in such cases is crucial to contain fire and smoke, particularly in buildings like this one that don’t have automatic sprinkler systems. Also, in this Bronx fire, one door may have played a critical role in allowing the fire to spread and the smoke and heat to spread vertically through the building. Large new apartment buildings are required to have sprinkler systems and interior doors that swing shut automatically to contain the smoke.
But those rules generally do not apply to many of the city’s older buildings. While this building was equipped with self-closing doors and smoke alarms, several residents said they generally ignored the alarms because of constant false alarms. The AP reports that New York City inspectors have issued violations for problems with self-closing doors on five apartments in the building. The records also state that all those violations were fixed.
Property Owners’ Responsibilities
New York City laws require property owners and/or property managers to provide, install and maintain smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in each unit. The devices should also be maintained and remain in good working order.
When a fire is caused by negligence (carelessness) or a lack of property maintenance, the property owners and/or property managers may be held liable for the injuries and loss of life that occurs. Injured victims or families of deceased victims can file a premises liability claim against the responsible parties including, but not limited to, the property owner, property manager, maintenance/repair company, etc.
Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost income and benefits, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families that have lost loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation as well.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a fire or explosion, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For 50 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of assisting injured victims. One of our clients — a hot water burn victim — secured $750,000 in damages from the property owner and manager.
Our firm also obtained a $985,000 settlement out of a $1 million policy for two people who suffered smoke inhalation injuries because the homeowner did not have smoke detectors installed and the $15,000 that was left on the insurance policy was for a person that we did not represent. Another client recovered $2,500,000 due to a faulty space heater. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fires-new-york-bronx-new-york-city-c8bd4a00e992b6da7380a23e6e7b38e4