Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A fatal house fire that led to criminal charges against a New Jersey landlord, has resulted in a wrongful death suit accusing the landlord and the local fire department with negligence. Haven Davenport died in the March 19, 2021 fire in Franklin Borough. She was 13 at the time.
The landlord, Walter Biller, allegedly failed to have rental home inspected prior to Davenport and her family moving in. According to the New Jersey Herald, the smoke detectors did not alert the family to the fire. Biller was subsequently charged with violating a safety law that led to a reckless death. He pled guilty in April, 2022 and was sentenced to five years probation.
The lawsuit filed by Haven’s parents, Matthew and Dorothy, in Sussex County Superior Court blames Biller and the Franklin Fire Department for Haven’s death. According to Darik News, the complaint alleges that responding firefighters had been at a local event and had been drinking prior to the alarm. It is unclear from news reports what else specifically the firefighters did that contributed to Haven’s death. A copy of the complaint is not available, but will be posted her if/when it becomes available. More on the story.
