NYC Fire: Families of Bronx victims sue apartment building owners

NEW YORK - Several families of the victims of a deadly fire in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx that killed 17 people including eight children sued the building's owners, famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump announced Tuesday.

Five lawsuits were filed by the Florida based-lawyer and New York law firm Weitz & Luxenberg against Bronx Park Phase III Preservation, the Bronx Phase III Housing Co., and three investment groups as defendants.

The suit, filed in Bronx Superior Court, alleges safety violations led to the wrongful deaths in the Jan. 9 fire in the 19-story Twin Parks North West apartment building.

Crump, other attorneys, and family members of the victims held a news conference outside the building announcing the suits.

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"We have a lot of the families who paid such a tragic loss in the apartment fire," said Crump. He pointed to the violations of city safety rules that "caused unspeakable loss of life and injury to these families, mostly from Africa."

Fire officials said a malfunctioning electric space heater started the fire on Jan. 8 with all of the victims dying from smoke inhalation. The youngest victim was 3 years old.

The fire consumed the apartment and part of the hallway. When the door to the apartment was left open, smoke was able to travel through the building. The door, which was self-closing, did not function properly, according to the FDNY.

"These Black families who lost so much that seem to be marginalized not only before the tragic fire broke out, but even in the aftermath," said Crump.

PHOTOS SHOW HORROR OF DEADLY FIRE

Several relatives of the fire victims spoke at the news conference to express frustration over the uncertainties spawned by the fire as they look for new places to live. Some remain in hotel rooms.

"What happened on Jan. 9 was very devastating and tragic, and very unexpected, and could have been avoided. I lost my sister in the fire. She was trying to come down to save my family," said Fatima Janneh, whose sister Sera, 27, was among those killed.

"We need justice for the families that lost people, as well as the other tenants in the building. We’re all victims to what happened here,"said  Janneh

An email was sent to the building owners seeking comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not specify any monetary damages being sought, nor does it mention any specific safety violations.

But another attorney for the families, Larry Goldhirsch, said those specifics will be identified in the coming weeks — including malfunctioning door springs and windows that could not open.

In their haste to escape, the occupants of the apartment where the fire started left their front door open behind them.

Spring-loaded hinges that were supposed to shut the door automatically did not work. A second door left open in a stairwell higher up acted as a flue, sucking smoke upward.

Fire investigators said that the apartment’s front door and a door on the 15th floor should have been self-closing to help contain the spreading smoke, but that the doors stayed fully open. It was not clear if the doors failed mechanically or if they had been manually disabled.

With the Associated Press