Attorneys representing the owner of the Alpine Motel filed a lawsuit Tuesday, stating others--not their client---were negligent leading up to the deadly blaze in December 2019 that killed six people.
The fire, one of the deadliest in city history, is now at the heart of ongoing civil and criminal cases after residents in the building complained about conditions inside. Alpine owner, Adolfo Orozco-Garcia is now facing several charges, including involuntary manslaughter, as a result.
In the 22 page document, attorneys named EDS Electronics Inc.--the company, they say contracted to monitor the Alpine's fire alarm system--The City of Las Vegas, the live-in Alpine employee, and the resident inside the unit where the fire started.
"This lawsuit is directed at those who are more directly responsible due to their own contractual breaches," it says.
EDS Electronics
The lawsuit says EDS Electronics was in charge of monitoring the fire alarm system at the Alpine. It states that on November 28th, 2019, a fire alarm was pulled at the building "likely....as a prank", but from then on the fire alarm system had malfunctioned.
"Every 24 hours between November 28, 2019, and December 21st, 2019, EDs and NMS received a signal from the Fire Alarm System that indicated it was malfunctioning," the lawsuit states.
Orozco Garcia's attorney Dominic Gentile argued the company didn't alert his client to the issue--while pointing out they did have his contact information for billing.
"[It] last functioned on November 28th prior to the fire and they knew every day--- as is proven by their records-- that there was a problem with the fire alarm system but did not take any steps to notify Mr. Adolfo Orozco Garcia," he said.
The lawsuit states that EDS also "failed to confirm that the Fire Alarm System was properly reset," to ensure it would notify "of any actual fire in the future."
On the day of the fire, first responders and survivors told News 3 they didn't hear any fire alarms go off that morning.
"If there was a working alarm system, the alarm system would have gone off, and people would have been alerted and they would have had more time to get out of the building,” Gentile said.
News 3 attempted to reach out the EDS Electronics right after the lawsuit was filed around 4:30 Tuesday, but was unable to reach for comment as the business was closed.
City of Las Vegas
The lawsuit states that "on or about November 28th" EDS contacted the City of Las Vegas (via Las Vegas Fire and Rescue) to report that "a false alarm had been triggered at the Alpine Motel" and that "the fire alarm system was malfunctioning."
Despite this, according to the lawsuit "The City of Las Vegas never performed any investigation." The lawsuit also states the City didn't tell Orozco Garcia about the malfunctioning fire alarms either.
A spokesperson for the City of Las Vegas told News 3 it's the city's practice not to comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
On-site Employee
The lawsuit states an on-site employee who lived at The Alpine motel and performed work for Orozco Garcia's company, Las Vegas Dragon Motel, LLC was negligent in his behavior leading up to the fire.
On the day of the blaze, rescue crews say a bolted back door prevented residents from escaping. The lawsuit addresses the door stating it was in disrepair, and points the finger at the on-site employee,
"It was his job to see to it that the door was fixed, and we have text messages directing him to do that," Gentile said.
Instead, the lawsuit said he "directed and participated in bolting the rear door to the Alpine Motel shut and failed to notify the Plaintiffs that he had done so."
Residents also complained about conditions inside the building, including a lack of heat. Investigators discovered the fire started when a resident left his stove on.
The lawsuit says the employee, "instructed residents...to use their stoves and/or ovens to heat their units unbeknownst to the Plaintiffs."
It also states Orozco Garcia purchased heating units with instructions for them to be provided to residents but he "failed to provide and install" them.
The lawsuit also states after the fire alarm was pulled on November 28th he "participated in entering the office....and disabling the fire alarm" which was "outside of his scope of work".
News 3's attempts to locate or reach him for comment were not successful.
Resident
The lawsuit also names a resident of the building, who lived in the unit where the fire started.
In the early hours of December 21st, the lawsuit says he "chose not to turn off his stove and/or oven before leaving his unit" to go to the 7-eleven nearby. The lawsuit says he should have known "he had highly flammable materials on or in close proximity."