A federal judge has decided to dismiss a lawsuit against the City of Baltimore filed by the families of three firefighters who perished in a 2022 fire. The lawsuit claimed the city was negligent in not marking or demolishing structurally unsafe buildings, one of which collapsed, killing Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler, and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo. According to FOX Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox ruled that, although the case facts were tragic, they did not state a plausible claim for a due process violation.
The suit further alleged that the City of Baltimore was involved in a "pay-to-play profit-sharing scheme," where certain properties were protected from being marked or demolished due to financial interests. Despite these claims, the court found no substantial evidence that the city had acted with intent to harm as necessary to allege a plausible due process violation in the context of employment. "Although Plaintiffs allege that the City acted ‘deliberately’ and ‘intended to harm firefighters through its egregious affirmative acts,’ they fail to allege sufficient facts to support these conclusory allegations," a court motion stated, as reported by FOX Baltimore.
This dismissal echoes past concerns about the city's handling of dangerous properties. Baltimore City launched Code X-Ray in 2010, a program intended to mark unsafe buildings with a distinct red X. However, it was halted in 2012 after community complaints about the signs. The program was not revived until October 2022, following the deaths of the firefighters, leaving many firefighters relying on outdated knowledge and inadequate computer systems.
According to CBS News Baltimore, the ATF determined that the fire was ignited as a result of criminal activity, and the deaths were ruled homicides in April 2022. The rowhome on South Stricker Street had been condemned since 2015, yet firefighters were still dispatched. Chief Solicitor Thomas Webb wrote in a motion to dismiss that "The Complaint does not — and cannot — plausibly allege that the City intended the deaths of its valued employees."
