Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed for Victim of Arrive Silver Spring Fire, Citing Lack of Safety Measures

Media Contact: Natasha Diemer [email protected]/561-625-6260

Date: September 12, 2024,

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed for Victim of Arrive Silver Spring Fire, Citing Lack of Safety Measures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILVER SPRING, Maryland – September 12, 2024 - The family of a 25-year-old Maryland woman who was killed in an apartment fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex filed a wrongful death lawsuit today against the owner and management company of that complex. The lawsuit alleges that Arrive Silver Spring failed to provide reasonable fire safety preventive measures and failed to follow recognized national fire safety standards in the maintenance of smoke detectors in the building.

The lawsuit names CP4 Silver Spring, LLC, the owner of the building, and Trinity Property Consultants, the property management company, as defendants.

On February 18, 2023, Melanie Diaz was descending a fire escape stairwell when heavy smoke from a fire that had broken out four floors below her unit engulfed her, leading to her death from smoke inhalation. The smoke was so dense that first responders could see practically nothing when entering the fire escape stairwell. Despite recent cosmetic upgrades, the building was not equipped with fire sprinklers that could have quickly extinguished the fire before it spread. Additionally, the smoke detectors in the unit where the fire started were found to be nonfunctional.

In a statement, Melanie’s parents, Cesar and Zuleika, and her brother, Cesar Jr., said:
"Nothing can bring back our daughter and our sister. We cry every day. Each day, we still feel the raw pain caused by Melanie’s death. Melanie was just beginning her life after graduating from Georgetown University. She had just begun a promising career with a think tank dedicated to improving the world. She had dreams of starting a family one day and of traveling the world. Her life was cut short because the defendants cut corners. We do not want anyone else to go through the pain our family has endured. The defendants ignored the need to invest in routine fire safety preventive measures. That choice cost us everything."

In the aftermath of the fire, multiple residents of Arrive Silver Spring were surprised to learn that the apartment complex was not equipped with fire sprinklers, a routine fire prevention tool in large buildings similar to Arrive. After Melanie’s death, the Diaz family lobbied Maryland lawmakers to pass legislation that would alert residents if the building they reside in is not equipped with fire sprinklers. Their successful efforts led to the Maryland General Assembly passing the Melanie Diaz Fire Sprinklers Save Lives Act, which Governor Wes Moore signed into law on May 16, 2024.

On August 8, 2024, the Montgomery County Council signed into law the Tenant Protection Act, which requires landlords to notify tenants about fire safety, insurance, and building maintenance issues.

The Diaz family is represented by Matthew Christ of the law firm Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Bruce Plaxen of the law firm Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A., in Columbia, Maryland, serves as local counsel. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Arrive Silver Spring did not implement reasonable fire prevention measures that would have protected Melanie from the fire, including fire sprinklers and working smoke detectors.

Attorney Matthew Christ said, "Since the day Melanie’s parents received the unimaginably horrific news that their daughter died in the Arrive complex’s fire, they have worked tirelessly to lobby Maryland lawmakers to ensure that future tenants are aware if a building owner has not taken reasonable measures to ensure their residents' safety from fires. With today’s wrongful death lawsuit, we are taking the first step toward holding the defendants accountable for their failure to take these reasonable measures in the first place. When hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life reside in an apartment complex that has had a history of fires, it was never a matter of if a fire would start on the premises, but when. This fire was foreseeable, and Melanie’s death was preventable had the defendants prioritized making life safety improvements to Arrive. We look forward to proving our case in front of a Maryland jury”

Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa remains one of the largest boutique litigation firms in the Palm Beach Gardens area with a national reputation for resolving complex cases and a deep commitment to serving our local community. Our firm is comprised of litigators dedicated to responsible advocacy and protecting the rights of catastrophically injured clients with excellence, integrity, and professionalism.