Lawsuit: DE City Officials' 'Indifference' Led to LODDs

Court filings this week accuse city officials of "indifference" and a "failure to care" that led to the deaths of three Delaware firefighters in 2016.

The claims are part of the continuing civil lawsuit against the City of Wilmington, two former mayors — Dennis P. Williams and James Baker — and two former fire chiefs — Anthony Goode and Willie Patrick Jr. — stemming from the deaths of Lt. Christopher Leach and senior firefighters Jerry Fickes and Ardythe "Ardy" Hope while battling a row house arson Sept. 26, 2016, in the Canby Park neighborhood. Three other firefighters — Lt. John Cawthray and now-retired firefighters Brad Speakman and Terrence Tate — were seriously hurt in the blaze.

In the documents filed Monday, lawyers for the plaintiffs claim the city is responsible for the "misconduct" of its officials and their policy-making decisions, WDEL-TV reports. The filing was part of a brief opposing the city's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Late last year, the city filed a motion to dismiss the legal, arguing a "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted," according to the TV station.

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The lawsuit blames a lack of water on the fire led to the mayday call and subsequent deaths of the three firefighters. It alleges that Wilmington's rolling bypass policy is what stopped hundreds of gallons of water from reaching the fire within minutes, the TV station reports.

"In the space of eight months in 2016, two children and three firefighters died, after years of dire warnings — all as a result of the rolling bypass and under-staffing policies in the (Wilmington Fire Department) and the delay these policies caused in the arrival off firefighters and water to any fire scene," the court documents state.