CHARLOTTE, N.C. --
Fire investigators have concluded the sprinklers were not working during a four-alarm fire at an Uptown apartment complex this week, and one legal expert said that makes lawsuits more likely.
"In our society, when there's negligence -- and that means failure to meet a standard that's supposed to have been met -- that gives the person injured a legal claim for their damages," said David Erdman, an attorney specializing in personal injury cases.
Fire investigators issued two citations Friday afternoon to the apartment managers and fined them $400. The fire started on the third floor at the First Ward Place Apartments early Wednesday morning. Firefighters say it began on a grill that reignited on a balcony.
Four people, including a baby and a toddler, had to be rushed to the hospital. Thirteen families are still displaced.
Tenants immediately told Eyewitness News that the sprinklers weren't working, but firefighters said they needed time to investigate.
By Friday, investigators determined the sprinkler system failed completely.
"When a government agency determines there was some negligence, wrongdoing, or a violation of some government rule, then that gives a leg up to people making a legal claim," Erdman said.
The apartments are managed by a company called Pinnacle, based in Seattle. The company didn't know the citations had been issued Friday afternoon until Eyewitness News called and asked for a comment. A spokesperson told Eyewitness News that the company isn't disputing the fire department's findings but that it wants to figure out exactly what went wrong before it comments further.
Erdman says it makes sense for the property managers to call for further investigations.
"It's very possible in a sizeable apartment complex, that the matter of providing sprinklers is a subcontracted function. If that's the case, the subcontractors might be implicated as opposed to just the owners," he said.
Pinnacle has relocated several families to nearby apartments. The Red Cross is also assisting several families.
Contractors have estimated the damage at $800,000.
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