Attorney hopes lawsuit brings accountability in Columbia townhome fire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -

The attorney representing two mothers who lost their children in a December fire says the event has taken a deep toll.

"I imagine actually seeing and hearing your 7-year-old daughter dying must have been much worse than what we have to go through reading about this terrible event," attorney Wells Woods said.

Woods sued property management group Yarco and Columbia Square Townhomes owner LEDG Capital on Monday for the deaths of 7-year-old J'yneisha Washington and 4-year-old Ta'niyah Pate. Woods claims the groups didn't properly keep the townhome safe by ensuring smoke detectors worked.

"All that they needed to survive is one working smoke alarm," Woods said.

Woods pointed to federal law that requires properties receiving low-income housing tax credits to make sure units are "suitable for occupancy." Both federal law and city code requires a smoke detector in every bedroom and at least one on each level. The unit where the fire happened did not have any working smoke detectors.

"As a property manager, you have a legal obligation to provide smoke alarms for your tenants," Woods said. "You have to keep them safe and you have to have them.

"What we're hoping to do is provide accountability, hold these property managers and owners responsible for neglecting their duties to their tenants," Woods said.

Yarco has not responded to a request for comment.