Newark, N.J. — Six families of those killed or burned in a Seton Hall University dormitory fire nearly two years ago filed lawsuits Friday claiming that security companies and manufacturers bore some responsibility for the deaths and injuries.
The lawsuits also accuse unnamed individuals with setting the fire, either deliberately or accidentally, and seek unspecified monetary compensation for their suffering. Other unnamed individuals are accused of failing to report the fire and warn others.
Three freshmen were killed and 62 others injured in the Jan. 19, 2000, fire. Lawsuits must be filed by Tuesday to meet a two-year statute of limitations.
Acting Prosecutor Donald C. Campolo has said the blaze started when someone set fire to a paper banner that had been ripped off a bulletin board. The fire spread to a couch and engulfed a third-floor lounge.
The lawsuits offer no explanation on how the fire started or spread, in part because the criminal investigation is ongoing.
A judge last week denied requests from the survivors and families for the prosecutor's office to provide the statements of witnesses or potential "targets" in the investigation, saying it would taint the criminal probe.
The lawsuits instead refer to dozens of "John Does" and "ABC Corporations" as defendants, along with a handful of security, furnishings and fire equipment companies. Some also charge negligence by state and local officials. Boland Hall did not have sprinklers at the time of the fire. The university has since installed them.
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