A Bronx couple that survived Sunday's deadly fire at a high-rise apartment complex where they lived is now suing both the city of New York and the building's owners for $1 billion in collective damages.
The pair of class-action lawsuits were filed Tuesday in the Bronx Supreme Court by Rosa Reyes and Felix Martinez. During the blaze, the couple suffered "severe and permanent personal injuries and/or property damage," according to court documents, and will "continue to incur expenses for medical care and attention."
Reyes and Martinez also suffered "pain, shock, mental anguish...these injuries and their effects will be permanent," the lawsuit added.
The fire at 333 E. 181st Street was ignited by an electric space heater in an apartment on the high-rise's second floor, investigators said. While the fire itself was reportedly contained to just the apartment with the space heater, it soon created massive amounts of smoke that permeated throughout the building's 19 floors.
Smoke inhalation caused at least 17 people to lose their lives. Over 40 others were injured, with at least 15 reported to remain in critical condition.
This made the blaze the deadliest fire in New York City in over three decades.
In the aftermath of the fire, questions were raised by investigators regarding how much Bronx officials and the owners of the building—a low-income housing development made up of many immigrant minorities—knew about the potential risks of a conflagration.
A number of these concerns were raised in the lawsuits by Reyes and Martinez.
Among these issues was the allegation that the building's ownership group, made up of four principal property development firms, had failed to ensure that a number of fire safety initiatives were properly working.
This includes "[failing] to ensure that the front 'steel doors' were self-closing; [failing] to ensure that the smoke detectors at the subject premises and within each apartment at the subject premises were functioning; [failing] to ensure that the fire escapes were in good working order," according to the lawsuits.
It was also stated that the building managers failed to ensure that fire sprinklers, fire alarms and the emergency intercom system were properly working.
Other tenants admitted that the fire alarms in the building went off often, and as a result, some people made the deadly decision to ignore the warning.
Beyond these allegations, it was argued that public housing officials from New York City and the Bronx knew of the poor conditions at the high-rise, but failed to make improvements. "Defendant Bronx had actual notice of defective conditions at the subject premises which caused the fire," the lawsuits added.
The lawsuits were particularly harsh towards the city's Department of Buildings, saying it gave "lip service to safety issues and fire issues and are responsible for the resulting injuries and deaths."
Reyes and Martinez's motion is the first legal action taken against the owners in the aftermath of Sunday's blaze.
When reached for comment regarding the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the building's ownership group told Newsweek that "we are devastated by this terrible tragedy and are cooperating fully with the Fire Department and other agencies as they continue to investigate."
Newsweek has also reached out to the city of New York for comment.
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