Dive Brief:

• Following a fire at the William Bell Apartments in Gulfport, Mississippi, in January 2023 that left two children dead, the victims’ family has filed a lawsuit alleging that the property’s non-functional smoke alarms led directly to their deaths.
• The suit, submitted on May 1, alleges that the smoke alarms in the unit occupied by Shanquetta Smith, Keiarius Aubrey and their four children failed to provide any audible alert after the fire started in their kitchen. Firefighters and witnesses on the scene did not hear any alarms at the time, according to local news outlet WLOX. A later investigation revealed that the alarms were not functioning.
• The exact damages sought against the property owner, Montgomery, Alabama-based Summit William Bell Apartments, and the manager, Montgomery-based Envolve Community Management, are unknown but exceed $75,000.

Dive Insight:

A total of eight people were hospitalized in the aftermath of the fire — Smith, Aubrey, their children and two other men who had tried to help, according to WLOX. 

Two of the children, aged 6 years old and four days old, died of smoke inhalation. Damages listed in the lawsuit include both the childrens’ wrongful deaths and the surviving family members’ injuries, according to court records.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the property owner and manager did not properly maintain, repair or inspect the property’s smoke alarms or fire safety equipment. By extension, they allegedly failed to keep the property in a safe condition, did not train their employees in proper safety measures and did not comply with building codes and other standards, according to court documents. 

“In the operation of its business, the defendants … were under a duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of [their] tenants including the plaintiffs and other invitees,” the lawsuit reads. “This includes the duty to install, maintain, repair and inspect the subject smoke detectors and other fire safety equipment in a reasonable fashion consistent with applicable industry standards and building codes.”

Envolve Community Management has a total of 106 properties under ownership and management, concentrated in Midwest and Sun Belt markets, according to its website. Summit William Bell Apartments is a limited liability company affiliated with Envolve.

“William Bell Apartments, Ltd. is aware of the lawsuit and intends to defend the same vigorously,” Charles Paterson, general counsel for Envolve, told Multifamily Dive in a statement.