One Killed, Two Hurt in Accidental Fire at 4600 Williams Rd in Benbrook, TX
Benbrook, TX -- A fire at an apartment complex left one person dead and two injured in the area of Benbrook, TX Thursday, March 2, 2017.
The incident took place at 4600 Williams Road.
According to the report, the deceased victim jumped from the second floor as the primary escape route was on fire. The wife of the unidentified deceased victim claims their 3 dogs were also killed. Two more people were left with undisclosed injuries in the incident. They were last listed in stable condition. In total, eight units were totally destroyed; four units sustained smoke damage.
The exact cause of the fire had yet to be determined at the time of the report.
The official investigation into the incident is ongoing and may reveal more details as it concludes.
There was no further information provided by the report.
map of the area
Commentary
Often times, fire fatalities occur in the middle of the night while victims are still sleeping. And when this happens, the primary reason victims don't survive is due to non-functioning smoke detectors.
I can't say this is what happened in this particular accident. I just know from experience that even though the law requires functional smoke detectors, all too often they either don't work, or haven't been installed at all. Seems like a pretty easy fix considering all the lives that could be saved in accidental fires.
According to the Texas Tenant Advisor website, tenants are required to notify a landlord of issues regarding smoke detectors. But, the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors remains the responsibility of the landlord. That being said, one report claims that complaints about non-functioning smoke detectors fell on deaf ears.
Again, we won't know the exact details of what happened here until a more thorough investigation takes place. Until then, we are left to wonder if there were functioning smoke detectors in place, and, if so, could they have saved a life.
--Grossman Law Offices
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