Residents impacted by the fire at The Reserve at LaVista Walk in Atlanta, Georgia, are pursuing legal action.
Attorneys for the group announced on Saturday that the survivors plan to file a class-action lawsuit against the owners, citing problems that include alleged safety violations.
“[The fire] totally could have been prevented,” an attorney said at the press conference. “There is no reason people should have been allowed up there. The apartment knew people were going up there; children were going up there.”
The fire at the northeast Atlanta property happened on Friday, Nov. 10, and two people were arrested in connection to the incident. Charnelle Gunn and Robert Stokes were charged with reckless conduct and first-degree criminal damage to property, local news reported.
Police believe the massive blaze started from fireworks on the apartment’s roof. Many residents lost their life possessions and were left displaced, turning to crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe to ask for donations to help them get back on their feet. Others spoke about the growing frustration as looters entered the building.
“I lost every art piece that I have done since I was 12 years old,” said resident Alyssa Greene, per 11 Alive. “I lost my family’s recipes that they’ve been passed down for almost a hundred years. I lost every stuffed animal I’ve had since elementary school.
One resident who at point worked at the building shared, “I do have firsthand knowledge of directly how negligent the owners were in regard to the treatment of this building.”
The attorneys also raised concerns about mold, flooding and the fire suppression system — pointing blame at the owners.
“They knew that they were out of code, and they did not pay the vendor. And so that is what this lien is here,” attorney Dean Thaxton added. “So they knew that they had issues.”
He added that within days he’d be filing “a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all of these people behind me. And we intend to hold these people accountable,” the outlet reported.
