What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ
Just yesterday my mother's apartment burned down. The apartment is located right above a restaurant that caused the fire. Thankfully, no one was injured or killed. My mother's apartment was severely destroyed, more than the others.
I went to ground zero this afternoon, and I found a bulldozer taking down the apartment from behind. The left side of the building was unharmed due to a firewall protecting it. The right side, where my apartment was, is completely gone. I doubt that she will be able to recover anything from the rubble.
What really made me mad was when I was told about the firemen and their ignorance. I was not there, but according to the story I heard, the firemen had to be called in by another tenant as the building's fire alarm was not functioning. They came about a half hour later. After they came, it took them another half hour to find out how to open the doors to the restaurant because they did not want to smash the windows. They went to the owners house to ask for the key...while the building was burning. I was told that they could have saved the building, they didn't even begin spraying the building down immediately and waited for about a half hour.
I also can't help but think that there was some kind of mafia involvement or that the house was burned for an insurance settlement. We do not have home or renter's insurance. It is likely that the owner will be getting no less than a million dollars in insurance money, while the tenants will not receive a penny.
I can understand if it was our fault, if we has started the fire, but that is not the case here. We are paying for this because of the restaurant. Now I'm not sure how this works, but I need to find out whats going on and get to the bottom of this. Anyone have any tips to investigate this matter? Also, should I attempt to contact a lawyer to possibly help me with this case? I just can't rest until we are compensated for our loss, especially since it's not our fault and that we lost everything. We just bought new furniture, a nice 50" plasma with a Bose sound system. A ton of jewelry which include gold and diamonds. My mother is in very bad financial shape now, all of her savings was in cash which all got burned. We did not have any type of insurance to cover all of this.
My point is, I am here to ask if there is anything I can legally do to be compensated by the restaurant or the building owner or even fire department for their ignorance? The fire alarm was not functioning, there is a great possibility that it was turned off by the owner ( I know this for a fact, but I'm not sire how I can prove this). Who are the people I should talk to, and what should I say?
I thank you in advance for any information you can give.
Just yesterday my mother's apartment burned down. The apartment is located right above a restaurant that caused the fire. Thankfully, no one was injured or killed. My mother's apartment was severely destroyed, more than the others.
I went to ground zero this afternoon, and I found a bulldozer taking down the apartment from behind. The left side of the building was unharmed due to a firewall protecting it. The right side, where my apartment was, is completely gone. I doubt that she will be able to recover anything from the rubble.
What really made me mad was when I was told about the firemen and their ignorance. I was not there, but according to the story I heard, the firemen had to be called in by another tenant as the building's fire alarm was not functioning. They came about a half hour later. After they came, it took them another half hour to find out how to open the doors to the restaurant because they did not want to smash the windows. They went to the owners house to ask for the key...while the building was burning. I was told that they could have saved the building, they didn't even begin spraying the building down immediately and waited for about a half hour.
I also can't help but think that there was some kind of mafia involvement or that the house was burned for an insurance settlement. We do not have home or renter's insurance. It is likely that the owner will be getting no less than a million dollars in insurance money, while the tenants will not receive a penny.
I can understand if it was our fault, if we has started the fire, but that is not the case here. We are paying for this because of the restaurant. Now I'm not sure how this works, but I need to find out whats going on and get to the bottom of this. Anyone have any tips to investigate this matter? Also, should I attempt to contact a lawyer to possibly help me with this case? I just can't rest until we are compensated for our loss, especially since it's not our fault and that we lost everything. We just bought new furniture, a nice 50" plasma with a Bose sound system. A ton of jewelry which include gold and diamonds. My mother is in very bad financial shape now, all of her savings was in cash which all got burned. We did not have any type of insurance to cover all of this.
My point is, I am here to ask if there is anything I can legally do to be compensated by the restaurant or the building owner or even fire department for their ignorance? The fire alarm was not functioning, there is a great possibility that it was turned off by the owner ( I know this for a fact, but I'm not sire how I can prove this). Who are the people I should talk to, and what should I say?
I thank you in advance for any information you can give.