The enduring mystery over the cause and origin of a 2010 fire that killed six people in a Minneapolis apartment didn't hinder a settlement last week in the wrongful-death lawsuit against the building's owner.
The fast-moving blaze, which gutted several apartments and an Irish pub at 3001 E. Lake St., was the city's deadliest fire in nearly 30 years. A bartender from the pub and a family of five staying with him, including three children, died of smoke inhalation and burns.
The suit, which had been scheduled for trial in May, claimed that the deaths could have been prevented had smoke detectors been adequately maintained. City officials said fire inspectors hadn't checked the apartments for at least 16 years before the fire.
The amount of money involved in the settlement is confidential.
"Whenever there is loss in a fire, especially one involving many lives, the focus is too often on the cause and origin," said Jeff Montpetit, an attorney representing victims' relatives. "When it comes to fires, there are other ways to look at how deaths can be prevented."
The settlement came less than a week after a duplex fire in north Minneapolis killed five siblings on Valentine's Day. Officials haven't determined the cause of that accidental fire, but an incident report said a space heater had been running for days between two rooms where the fire apparently started. No code violations were found at the duplex.
Although no official origin has been determined in the April 2, 2010, Lake Street fire, Montpetit said a fire protection engineer hired by his firm suggested that it originated in the second-floor apartment bedroom of bartender Ryan Richner, who worked at McMahon's Irish Pub on the first floor of the burned building.
Also killed were Andrew Gervais, his three children and his mother, Anne Gervais. They weren't related to Richner and were only planning to stay overnight. They had been asleep for a few hours when the fire started around 5:30 a.m., according to the suit.