Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer
Published: 12:12 a.m., Thursday, December 9, 2010
BRIDGEPORT -- The family of a city woman and her three children, who died in a fire in their West Side apartment in November 2009, claim their deaths were the result of the negligence of city officials, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Tiana Black and her three children, Ny-shon Williams, 5, and 4-year-old twins, Nyaisja and Tyaisja Williams, died in a fire in their P.T. Barnum Apartments unit shortly after midnight on Nov. 13, 2009.
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court here, cites the city's Housing Authority, the Fire Department, Fire Chief Brian Rooney, Fire Marshal William Cosgrove, Mayor Bill Finch, Zoning Administrator Dennis Buckley and Building Official Peter Paajanen. It claims Black and her children's death were the result of the careless and reckless behavior of city and housing authority employees for failing to provide a safe escape.
The family's lawyers, Thomas Weihing and John Bochanis, declined comment on the lawsuit.
In a statement released by Elaine Ficarra, Mayor Bill Finch's spokeswoman, "The city has received the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Black family who perished in the November 2009 fire at P.T. Barnum Apartments. Our investigation into this matter indicates that the fire was not due to any fault on the part of the city, and we intend to fully defend the city against these allegations. We are confident that the ultimate resolution of this case will substantiate this position."
Housing Authority Executive Director Nicholas Calace declined comment.
The fire started when a rear burner on the apartment's gas stove that had been left on ignited the kitchen counter and cabinets, according to the state fire marshal.
When firefighters arrived flames were billowing out of the unit's kitchen window.
The fire marshal's report stated the 22-year-old Black was legally intoxicated at the time of the fire and that condition "would likely have impaired her ability to respond appropriately to the initial alarm and to the fire itself."
While city officials have contended the P.T. Barnum housing project does comply with all fire codes ,critics have pointed out that the apartments have no fire escapes. They claim that if there was a fire escape to the second-story bedroom windows at least one of the children would have gotten out safely.
The lawsuit charges that among other things, the housing authority did not have adequate fire or smoke detection or suppression devices in the family's apartment including a sprinkler system; did not provide fire extinguishers to tenants and did not provide fire safety training to tenants including fire drills. It claims city officials did not properly inspect the apartment or ensure that proper fire regulations were being enforced there.
Investigators said they found a glass rum bottle that was three-quarters full on the floor of the dining room and on the floor of the kitchen an open container of fruit juice that contained an alcoholic beverage.
Tyaisja was found on the floor of the dining room near the front door. Her twin sister was found on the living room couch. Neither child had any burns and died from smoke inhalation. Tiana Black was found by firefighters on the dining room floor near her daughter. She had burns on her arms, shoulders and face. Ny-shon was found lying at the foot of a second-floor bedroom window. He also died from smoke inhalation.
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