LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Multiple residents who lived in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise in 2022 are suing Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and other parties stemming from a fire that broke out while a first-floor Chipotle restaurant was being renovated, leaving residents running for safety through smoke-filled hallways.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also names as defendants KDC Construction, hired by Chipotle for the renovation; building owner Grand Promenade; and GK Management, a firm hired to maintain and lease apartments at the Grand Avenue building.
The suit seeks unspecified damages. A Chipotle representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The fire started about 8 a.m. Jan. 24, 2022, at the 255 Grand Apartments while the Chipotle restaurant was being renovated. The blaze started when a construction worker cut through an electric main line that distributes power to the entire building, the suit states.
"The horrific fire scorched the first floor of 255 Grand Apartments and filled the entire 27-story high-rise building with smoke, injuring tenants, trapping many in elevators for prolonged periods of time, endangering firefighters and sending many other tenants evacuating through halls and stairwells of thick black smoke in a desperate attempt to reach safety," according to the suit, which further states that more than 120 firefighters responded and helped about 60 people get out safely.
Tenants walked through and inhaled thick smoke in hallways and stairwells that also left some hallways were completely dark, the suit states.
Without the help of firefighters, police and other residents who banged on doors and windows, many tenants would not have gotten out, the suit states. The building owner and manager had the responsibility to inspect and ensure that reasonable safety measures were in place in case of a fire, the suit states.
Some residents could not return to their units and are incurring expenses above the money provided by the defendants, if any assistance was given at all, the suit states.
The tenants have suffered anguish, fright and horror "by way of living through this tragedy and seeing the fire engulf their home" as well as from watching their family members, friends and neighbors running through flames and thick black smoke, the suit states. Some also lost valuable and sentimental personal items, according to the suit.
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