Families of workers killed in a fire at a North Carolina construction site are filing a lawsuit

By Ames Alexander, Gavin Off
The Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The families of two construction workers who died in last year’s SouthPark fire have sued the developer and others, claiming a series of failures led to their foreseeable and preventable deaths.

The federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the families of Demonte Sherrill and Reuben Holmes alleges that Mill Creek Residential Trust, Kentucky Overhead Door, Inc. and affiliated companies violated numerous laws and requirements, which in turn gave rise to and Fire on May 18 contributed to the rapid spread of the virus.

“The violations prevented escape, hindered firefighters’ rescue efforts, and negated firefighting efforts, allowing the fire to spread virtually uncontrollably until it killed Demonte Sherrill and Reuben Holmes,” the lawsuit says.

Mill Creek Residential said in a statement that the company was aware that a complaint had been filed but that it was not company policy to comment on pending litigation.

“As we have previously stated, our condolences go out to the families affected by the tragic fire,” the statement said.

Holmes and Sherrill were on the sixth floor of an apartment building under construction – the 239-unit Modera SouthPark complex – when the fire broke out. They were more than 460 feet from the only stair exit on this floor. state occupational safety inspectors determined.

Inspectors found that the seven-story wooden building’s exits were not arranged to allow workers an easy exit.

The supervisor of those two workers, Keith Suggs, said he instructed them over the phone to lie on the floor and crawl toward the stairwell exit during the fire. But they said the smoke was too thick for them to see the exit, Suggs said. Her remains were later discovered in the charred rubble.

The lawsuit provides more details about what happened
The lawsuit provides more information about why the men were trapped during a historic fire that many others managed to escape.

About two weeks before the fire, contractors removed a temporary staircase that was near where Sherrill and Holmes were installing windows and doors on the day of the fire, the lawsuit says.

That left only the building’s only staircase left – one that was far from the two victims, the complaint says.

The building also lacked the necessary plumbing connections that would have allowed firefighters to extinguish the fire and rescue Sherrill and Holmes, the lawsuit says.

“Rescue attempts were delayed and fire crews were put at risk when they were falsely told by the Mill Creek defendants that the necessary water connections were in place and entered the burning building to connect their hoses, only to discover that the connections were not present,” the lawsuit says.

The large response by first responders to the Charlotte construction site fire prompted officials to ask the public to only use 911 in a true emergency

State inspectors also found that the employer had not developed and implemented an emergency response plan and that it had not established an alarm system to warn employees of such emergencies.

The five-alarm fire not only killed Sherrill and Holmes, but also endangered many others, the lawsuit says. Firefighters had to rescue 15 other workers who were stuck in the building.

Suit blames an “inherently dangerous” architectural style
The house consisted of five floors of wood frame construction and two floors of non-combustible concrete – an increasingly common building type known as podium construction.

The lawsuit alleges that the contractors knew that a fire during construction “would be significant and inherently dangerous.”

The fire broke out after a diesel engine for a generator caught fire, igniting the foam insulation and wooden frames of the multi-story building. More than 90 firefighters were deployed to bring the fire under control.

Both the generator and spray foam were located in a mobile trailer.

According to the complaint, the workers attempted to park the trailer outside the building but were “instructed by a supervisor/employee of Mill Creek Defendant to drive the truck and trailer into the parking deck for Building B, which is located immediately beneath the five buildings .” (5) Floors made from wooden structures that are at risk of fire during construction work.”

Around 7:30 a.m., a worker started the generator, went to the floor above and began spraying the foam. About half an hour later the spray gun stopped working.

When the worker returned, he found the trailer engulfed in flames, the complaint states.

The generator’s motor failed due to “lack of proper maintenance, lack of lubrication and excessive stress,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants permitted and approved the use and storage of the flammable liquid in the parking deck “even though the deck was littered with flammable construction materials and debris, including new flammable bathtubs, wood debris and other flammable materials.”

Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said firefighters rescued 15 workers and had to call for help themselves during the site fire

Faith Fox, an attorney representing the victims’ families, said: “We are committed to serving justice and ensuring that no other family has to suffer such a preventable loss.” The defendants must be held responsible for their blatant disregard for basic safety standards and of human life must be held responsible.”

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