A fire tore through an apartment in Torrance on Sunday, leaving one person dead.
The fire broke out at about 2 a.m. at a multi-story apartment located in the 22500 block of Ocean Ave. When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out of a first floor apartment and a second floor apartment.
Investigators believe that the fire started on the first floor, then spread to two apartments on the second floor. Five units in all were damaged by the fire.
Firefighters found a deceased person in of the units.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the deadly fire.
Responsibility of Apartment Owner for Injuries or Death Caused by Fire
The owner of an apartment will be legally responsible for injuries or death caused by fire in the building if the apartment owner was negligent. Issues that a personal injury lawyer will look into in order to determine if the apartment owner was negligent include:
- Did the building have a sufficient number of smoke alarms, and were they working?
- Did the building owner fail to maintain a fire alarm system and fire safety equipment (fire escapes, fire extinguishers, etc.) in good working order?
- Maintenance of the smoke alarms is the landlord’s responsibility. A landlord cannot delegate responsibility for maintenance of smoke alarms to a tenant.
- Did improperly maintained equipment in the apartment building cause the fire (heaters, boilers, etc.)?
- Did other property hazards which the apartment owner knew about and failed to do anything about cause or contribute to the fire?
- Were fire doors missing or left open, causing the fire to spread quickly?
Injuries caused by fire can be devastating to the victims and their family members. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death due to an apartment fire, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer who has experience representing burn injury victims and their families.
The attorneys at McGee, Lerer and Associates specialize in serious injury and death cases and have extensive experience representing burn injury victims. We have five Southern California office locations: Long Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Pasadena. A lawyer at our firm is available 24/7 for a free consultation. If you hire our firm, there is no upfront fee, and no fee whatsoever unless we win your case.