Fire Alarm Company's Outrageous Conduct Proves Fatal and Costs Co. $4.6 million

It was 1:34 a.m. when a fire alarm in a California couple's home alerted monitoring company Security Associates International (SAI) that something was wrong. Over a two-way intercom, the couple frantically told an SAI representative that the house was on fire and that they were trapped inside.

Instead of calling the county fire department, the SAI representative called the county's non emergency number and reported a fire alarm - a much lower priority that a report of a house fire. The representative let the dispatcher put her on hold without expressing any urgency. The dispatcher did not return to the call for eight minutes.

Had the SAI representative properly notified authorities of the fire, multiple firefighting crews would have been dispatched for a house fire. Instead, because the report indicated an alarm only, only two firefighters were sent to the scene. The entered the house and began searching for the couple inside and a flashover explosion occurred , killing the firefighters and the couple inside.

Every second counts for firefighters and emergency personnel. As such, later investigations concluded that the delay caused by the SAI representative's failure to call the emergency number, failure to report a house fire, and willingness to stay on hold contributed to the tragic outcome.

One of the firefighters' family sued the company, Desmond v. Pinnacle Sec. CA L.P. No. C 08-20292 (CAal., Contra Costa Co. Super. Dec 23, 2010), and the company settled with the family for $4.6 million three weeks before trial.

This case put security companies on notice that they have a duty to provide accurate information quickly. As if they did not see it before, it shows them that consumers rely on the protection that they pay them for and that they deserve to have the information accurately and quickly provided so as to avoid issues such as this.

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of the outrageous conduct of another, contact us today at Linton & Associates for a free evaluation of your claim. We are personal injury attorneys that put you first and we have the knowledge and the resources to bring your wrongdoer to justice.

My name is Christopher S. Linton, Attorney at Linton and Associates Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama. We specialize in Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Premises and Product Liability, Auto Accidents and Infant Injury and Death.