On what was supposed to be Melanie Diaz's 27th birthday, her parents are filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
She died trying to evacuate her burning Silver Spring high rise with her two dogs in February of 2023. Survived by her parents and her brother, her family is now seeking at least $2.3 million in damages against the owner of Arrive Apartments and the property management company, Trinity Property Consultants.
“We are here today because we want to send a clear message to this building and other corporations who are doing the same thing. … I want to say you still have a chance to fix it, to fix all these issues, because no money is going to replace any life,” said her father, Cesar Diaz.
The lawsuit alleges the owner failed to maintain and inspect the building for fire safety measures, that the smoke detectors in the unit where the fire broke out weren't working, and that the building should have installed fire sprinklers.
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“Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the fire safety door that separated the seventh floor, where the fire broke out, from the fire evacuation stairwell that failed and allowed the door to stay open, letting in dark plumes of smoke that would have disoriented Melanie or other residents who would have relied on that evacuation stairwell for safe passage out of the building,” said Attorney Matthew Christ. “Melanie would have encountered thick, dark smoke that would have disoriented her, and ultimately it suffocated her to death.”
Attorneys for Melanie's family say it could take a year to two years before a resolution is made.
News4 reached out to Trinity Property Consultants and the owner of the building but we have yet to hear back as of Saturday night.
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In the days following the deadly fire in 2023, Trinity Property Consultants did release a statement in which it sent condolences to the Diaz family and all of those affected by the fire. The statement also stated that all fire systems were in working order and everything was up to code the day of the fire.
