, after a 5-year-old boy playing with a lighter accidentally lit a Christmas tree on fire on the second floor. The blaze took the lives of Rosalee McDonald, 33; Quintien Tate-McDonald, 16; Destiny McDonald, 15; Dekwan Robinson, 8; J’Kwan Robinson, 5; Taniesha Robinson, 3; Tiffany Robinson, 2; Virginia Thomas, 30; Shaniece Wayne, 10; Natasha Wayne, 8; Janiyah Roberts, 3; and Quinsha White, 18.
“This terrible tragedy resulting in precious loss of life could and should have been avoided,” said attorney Tom Kline. “After a lengthy ATF investigation, ATF report, and our own independent investigation, we are now prepared to move forward, seeking not only compensation, but accountability.” Another attorney, Jordan Strokovsky, filed a suit on behalf of Howard Robinson, a father to four of the children,The filings also target Enor International Inc., the California company that distributes the “Techno Torch” lighter with which the 5-year-old accidentally started the fire. The lawsuits allege that the lighter lacked safety features that would have prevented a child from igniting it and that it was designed and distributed “such that it was attractive to children.
As a result of a number of defects, the lawsuit says, the lighter itself was “an unreasonably dangerous product.”that he had not seen the lawsuit and had not heard of the fire. The lighter, he said, was made in China and approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. After the fire, the victims were buried in unmarked graves at Chelten Hills Cemetery in the city’s East Mount Airy section. Their graves remained unmarked until January, when a local monument company