MA Landlords Charged in Fire that Injured FFs
By Aviva Luttrell
Source MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.
Two landlords will be arraigned Tuesday in connection with a three-alarm blaze that seriously injured two Everett firefighters over the summer.
Muddasir Bari, 63, and Nargis Bhatti, 55, both of Everett, are charged with violating building codes as landlords of the multifamily home at 15 Morris St. in Everett.
The wood-framed building was the location of a three-alarm fire that left two firefighters seriously injured on July 13.
Everett Fire Chief Anthony Carli said the blaze was a “worst case scenario” of what can happen when overcrowding and serious fire and building codes are ignored.
“Firefighters put themselves at risk whenever they respond to a fire and that is why there are laws in place to minimize risk to first responders and to the public,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said in a statement. “In this case, through their alleged violation of the building codes, the defendants are alleged to have created a dangerous situation that ultimately led to two firefighters sustaining serious injuries.”
When firefighters responded to the blaze just after 2 p.m., they were met with heavy fire on the second floor of the two-and-a-half story, three-family home. Investigators determined that the blaze started at the electrical panel as a result of the circuit being overloaded.
Bari and Bhatti have been charged with wanton and reckless disregard of fire or building codes that result in serious bodily injuries under the Comprehensive Fire Safety Act, passed as a result of the 2003 The Station Nightclub fire.
The fire was jointly investigated by the Everett Fire and Police Departments, State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal and State Police assigned to the Office of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
———
©2019 MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.
Visit MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass. at www.masslive.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
