CBS Ne
w York reports that nearly two dozen people including five firefighters were injured in a fire at a homeless shelter in Morningside Heights. Firefighters spent more than an hour trying to bring the blaze under control. The flames reportedly broke out on the ninth floor of the 18-story building in the 2700 block of Broadway. Many residents panicked and tried to get out of the building.
Many said the alarms failed to sound and that the sprinkler systems in the building were not working. In all, 21 people were injured. At least one 14-year-old girl sustained burn injuries. City officials say they will initiate an investigation into the conditions at the shelter. Specifically, officials say, they will look into many violations at the facility related to construction safety and elevator maintenance and whether those issues may have caused or contributed to this fire.
Property owners in the state of New York are required to keep their premises safe. In this case, the property owner had a legal obligation to the residents living there to maintain a safe building. That includes good construction, safe wiring, fire alarm systems and sprinklers in working condition. Apparently the alarms did not sound and sprinklers did not work. A thorough investigation would be required in order to determine what occurred here and why.
It appears that the residents of this shelter were homeless people, mostly families. Burn injuries and smoke inhalation injuries can be extremely severe and costly to treat. Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation from the at-fault party for medical and hospital expenses, cost of surgery and continuing treatment.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a fire caused by someone else’s negligence, please contact the experienced New York personal injury attorneys of the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm for a free, comprehensive and confidential consultation. Remember, you don’t have to shell out a penny until we recover compensation for you. We will remain on your side, fight hard for your rights and strive to make sure that the negligent parties are held accountable. Call us at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496).
Other numbers where we could be reached are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW,  1-888-WYPADEK, or  1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit our website: www.work4youlaw.com
Source: CBS New York