Family sues fire departments for wrongful death

Excerpts from firelawblog.com:

The family of a man who died in a fire last year has taken legal action against 21 Illinois fire departments and two chief officers, alleging that they failed to properly rescue him. Aric Evan Tashjian McClure, 33, was trapped in a second-floor apartment during a fire that occurred on August 4, 2017, in Round Lake, Illinois. His body wasn’t recovered until the next morning due to the building being deemed too dangerous to enter.

Firefighters arrived at the scene just before 5 p.m., and the fire was eventually extinguished by around 8:30 p.m. Despite this, no attempt was made to search for McClure inside the building, and his body was only found the following day. The estate filed a 140-page, 52-count complaint in Lake County Circuit Court on August 2, 2018 — just days before the one-year anniversary of the fire.

The lawsuit names 21 fire departments, MABAS Division 4, Fire Chief Greg Formica, and Fire Marshal Tony Breuscher from the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District. It also includes the building’s owner, Scott Gothann, and his son-in-law, Matthew Sheppard, who were reportedly performing plumbing work when the fire broke out.

Here are the 21 fire departments named in the suit:

  1. Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District
  2. Antioch Fire Department
  3. Highland Park Fire Department
  4. Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Department
  5. Town of Salem Fire/Rescue
  6. Buffalo Grove Fire Department
  7. Countryside Fire Protection District
  8. Libertyville Fire Department
  9. Grayslake Fire Protection District
  10. Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District
  11. Gurnee Fire Department
  12. Lake Forest Fire Department
  13. Lake Villa Fire Protection District
  14. Lake Zurich Fire and Rescue Department
  15. Mundelein Fire Department
  16. Newport Fire Protection District
  17. Wauconda Fire Protection District
  18. Waukegan Fire Department
  19. McHenry Township Fire Protection District
  20. Nunda Rural Fire Protection District
  21. Spring Grove Fire Protection District

The complaint accuses the fire departments of negligence and wrongful death. Key allegations include failing to properly search the building, ignoring reports from neighbors and McClure’s mother that he was still inside, and not using available ladders to access his second-floor apartment. The suit claims that firefighters disregarded standard procedures and ignored direct pleas from the victim’s mother to check the area where he was last seen.

McClure’s attorney, Ronald F. Wittmeyer, Jr., stated, “I fully support the hard work firefighters do every day, but as citizens, we have a right to expect that if a building catches fire, our fire department will come and try to save us, not just douse the flames and go home. Aric’s body wasn’t even found until the next morning, despite his mother repeatedly telling firefighters that she believed he was still in his apartment.”

The full complaint is titled *McClure v. Greater Round Lake Fire Prot District et al.*

It's worth noting that Illinois eliminated the public duty doctrine in 2016, which previously shielded fire departments from liability in cases like this. This decision has made it easier for victims’ families to hold departments accountable. This case marks the second fire-related lawsuit this week targeting an Illinois fire department over a fatality.

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