Utah Law Talk

A 38-year-old man is dead following a fire in Provo, Utah on March 4, 2009. According to KSL News, the fire started at an older apartment complex located at 511 N. 100 West. Around 12:30 p.m., a resident from the complex called 911 to report that it appeared that smoke was coming from a light fixture. Fire crews showed up and determined that the fire was on the third floor. They forced their way into the apartment where they discovered a small fire, lots of smoke, and a dead man. Although the fire was said to be slow-moving, the cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation. Fire investigators determined that it was a hot object placed in a laundry basket that started the fire. The cause of the fire has been ruled unintentional. Residents near the fire were evacuated while the fire crews put out the fire. They returned a short time later. According to reports, the person who placed the 911 call was not allowed back.
Investigators also determined that the smoke alarms were not functioning as they were intended. Both the alarm downstairs and the one in the deceased person’s apartment were not working. By reports, the smoke alarm upstairs actually had no battery in it. This raises the question of whether the apartment complex had procedures in place to make sure that its residents were safe if and when a fire broke out. What procedures did they have to make sure that every unit had at least one functioning smoke alarm at any given time? In new construction, every living area is required to have a working smoke alarm. Under this standard, it would seem that a one bedroom apartment should have at least two. I wonder how many other smoke alarms in the complex are not working and when the last time was that apartment inspected these smoke alarms. There obviously is a problem here that needs to be corrected. Ultimately, the apartment complex is responsible for the safety of their tenants and could be held responsible if they failed in this duty.
My condolences to the family of this man.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Personal Injury, Wrongful Death. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.