A fire at a Ramada Inn in Vineland, NJ early this morning injured two people including Johnathan Rodriguez, a police officer who ran into the burning building to knock on doors to wake guests so they could get out safely.
Officer Rodriguez has been hospitalized at Inspira Medical Center Vineland, where he is being treated for smoke inhalation. The other person who was injured is a hotel guest who suffered burns and smoke inhalation. She was initially taken to Inspira and later transferred to the burn center at Crozier Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pa.
Officials are working to determine the source of the fire, which broke out on the second floor shortly after 1:30 a.m. this morning. Some guests of the hotel, located on the 2200 block of West Landis Avenue, were hanging out of their second-floor windows waiting for firefighters to rescue them with ladders.
Fire crews battled the blaze for two hours. Hotel officials declined to give a statement to news outlets.
Can a Hotel Be Sued for Smoke Inhalation and Burns?
It depends on whether evidence of negligence attributable to the hotel is found during the fire investigation. There are a number of factors to consider:
- What was the source of the fire?
- Were there working smoke alarms?
- Were safety protocols in place to protect guests, and were they followed?
Finding the Source of the Fire
To determine where the fire started, specialists look at burn and char patterns and the degree of decomposition in areas affected by the fire. This generally leads to an area of origin, where there is a depth of char and significant decomposition. Within that area, the search focuses on finding the point of origin, the precise location of the initial source of flames. Pre-fire witnesses can provide valuable information regarding materials that were present in the area of origin that could have ignited with an adequate heat source, electrical or mechanical.
A lawsuit against the hotel may be necessary for an injured person to get access to investigation information and to get compensation. We recommend contacting an attorney with experience with fire and burn injury cases.
Sources:
http://6abc.com/news/2-hurt-in-fire-at-ramada-inn-in-vineland-nj/1770485/
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/large-fire-at-vineland-ramada-inn-leaves-woman-police-officer/article_a0482326-5b4b-5eff-be9e-92d63929c766.html