Relatives of Low-Income Tenants Claim Utica Firefighters Failed to Rescue Tenants

Relatives of four tenants killed in a 2009 fire in a building in a poor neighborhood brought a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Utica. They claimed that their constitutional right to equal protection occurred through the discriminatory withholding of fire services because they lived in an apartment house filed with low-income tenants. They also claimed that Utica firefighters were not properly trained to respond to blazes in all varieties of residential structures. The primary issue was whether the Utica fire department had a “don’t go in” policy when blazes broke out in low-income, multifamily dwellings and, if it did, to what extent it may have contributed to the deaths of the victims. The city asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against the city, finding that there were questions of fact that required a trial. It was unclear whether firefighters attempted to enter the back of the building and rescue the tenants or never made the effort. 

Bush v. City of Utica: Index No. 6:12-CV-1444, NYJ No 1202759104007 (Northern Dist. NY; 5/31/16; Hurd, DJ)