Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A Canadian teenager who saved two children from a trailer fire in 2007, is now a defendant in a lawsuit over responsibility for the fire. Aaliyah Braybrook, of Alberta, was 12 years old at the time of the fire, and was baby sitting for two young boys. She is now 14.
One of the boys is alleged to have been playing with a cigarette lighter in the bathroom, starting the blaze that destroyed the trailer, and spread to an adjacent house. The house, owned by the grandparents of the boys, was heavily damaged. Aaliyah was able to evacuate both boys and a family pet, and was considered to be a hero by local fire officials and family members alike.
The suit was brought by Kendall and Diane Mills, the grandparents of the boys, against Aaliyah and Douglas Mills, son of the plaintiffs. It alleges negligence in that Aaliyah was too young to be babysitting. However, according to attorneys involved in the case, the suit is actually the result of the insurance companies who insure the various parties being unable to reach agreement on responsibility.
