A group of men who were trapped inside their cells while a fire broke out in a Rikers Island facility last year is suing the city, claiming officers at the troubled jail failed to bring them to safety while their rooms filled with smoke.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday, paints a picture of panic when the blaze broke out at the North Infirmary Command on April 6, 2023. The unit houses inmates with acute medical needs.
“The incarcerated individuals housed in the North Infirmary Command were locked in their cells and dormitories where they choked on toxic black smoke, some vomiting, some losing consciousness, all gasping for air, because the City had trapped them in the facility while its own employees escaped to safety,” the lawsuit states.
A report published in December by the city Board of Correction said the fire injured 20 people, and was likely started by a detainee. The lawsuit was filed by 15 men who say they were hurt by the blaze, and alleges they received no medical attention after they requested help.
Attorneys representing the men argue the response to the fire illustrates the dysfunction at Rikers Island, which is under federal monitorship. The lawsuit points out sprinkler systems in the building weren’t working when the blaze erupted, which was highlighted in the December report. The suit alleges that officials failed to “operate, repair and maintain its jails consistent with the minimum standards for fire safety.”
A spokesperson for the city’s law department said the case is under review.
Joshua Lax, one of the attorneys representing the detainees, said correction officers at the jail failed to follow basic protocol.
“Whatever they have in their books, it’s not being followed through on, like many things that they purport to say they have procedures on,” Lax said. “Usually that is a product of a failure to train, it’s a failure to supervise and it’s a failure to discipline people, whatever rank they hold, warden to correctional officer.”
Lax also said the fire highlighted in the lawsuit is one of many infernos that erupt at the jail every year.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for any physical or emotional injuries from the fire. Lax noted that many of the men were being held for pre-trial and not convicted of any crimes at the time. A majority of them are now in state prisons, while three still remain at Rikers.
The sentiments of the DOC seem to be that they just don’t care,” said Lax.“That it’s all a game to them.”
