One year after the Eaton and Palisades fires, dangerous toxins are preventing fire survivors from returning to their homes.
Attorney Chip Merlin said beryllium is one of several toxins keeping some people from returning to their homes that are still standing.
“I mean, it's the type of thing you see the skulls and crossbones don't go anywhere close to this,” he told KNX News’ Karen Adams. “The truth of the matter is I think because it's an urban fire, things that have been burned up here that have not been burned up before, and some of the things that are in computers and the batteries and the numbers that we're finding just haven't been found in previous fires.”
Merlin claimed that insurers are not paying to clean up the toxins from their homes, many claiming that smoke by itself is not physical damage. He also added that people are running out of additional living expense money paid out by their insurance companies.
“It's getting to the point of almost boiling over in terms of frustration, and I think that's the reason why we're starting to see, you know, Los Angeles County attorney filing an investigation into State Farm and what's going on,” he said. “I imagine there might be other carriers as well.”
He said litigation pressure is not going to be enough and that it's going to take public pressure and for government officials and regulators to recognize the safety issue.
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