Bronx Fire Survivors Seek $3 Billion, Blame Building Owners
- Negligence lawsuit filed after weekend blaze killed 17 people
- Ownership group says it’s cooperating with fire investigation
Firefighters in front of 333 E. 181st Street a day after a fire swept through the complex, on Jan. 10.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A couple who survived the Bronx, New York, apartment fire that claimed 17 lives over the weekend are seeking at least $3 billion in damages from the building’s owners.
Lawyers for Rosa Reyes and Felix Martinez blame the fire on a failure of the owners to properly maintain the building and heed reports of unsafe conditions. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in state court, they allege multiple maintenance safety problems, including non-functioning fire escapes and the lack of a sprinkler system, and say the owners failed to make sure the steel doors on apartments and stairways were self-closing to prevent the spread of fire and smoke.