"A safety inspection company and the owner of a Massachusetts assisted-living facility that was the site of a fatal fire that killed 10 people are blaming each other for failing to address a faulty sprinkler system. Inspector Fire Systems Inc. sued Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn, claiming it notified the facility months before the fire about recalled sprinklers that needed to be replaced."
"Gabriel House's court filing Monday stated that as "a result of the failure of the sprinkler system at Gabriel House to function properly, the fire and the resulting heat and smoke from the fire were not contained to that one room and spread throughout the facility." It said Gabriel House anticipated that Fire Systems Inc. would try to shift responsibility to the facility for failing to replace the sprinklers."
A safety inspection company and the owner of Gabriel House are trading lawsuits after a July 2025 fire killed ten residents. Fire Systems Inc. alleges it notified the facility months earlier about recalled sprinkler heads that might not operate. Gabriel House's owner, Dennis Etzkorn, counters that Fire Systems failed for years to properly inspect and test the sprinkler system. Gabriel House's filing states sprinkler failure allowed heat and smoke to spread beyond the originating room. Etzkorn says inspections in February, April and July 8, 2025 certified no sprinkler deficiencies. Records show the facility previously faced regulatory troubles and a period when it was barred from accepting new residents.
Read at Boston.com
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