EASTHAMPTON — A former tenant of the Easthampton Housing Authority has filed a lawsuit against the organization after her stove caught fire last year.
Latisha Ealy of Easthampton is asking for $50,000 to pay for “severe permanent scarring and emotional distress,” according to a complaint filed on May 5.
A new stove purchased from Home Depot was installed in the 11 Ely Ave. apartment where Ealy resided in February 2016, court records show. The complaint states that it was delivered during a time of steady rainfall and the stove was not covered, allowing water to flood the stove top and become trapped within the unit and its wiring. Court documents claim Ealy took a video of water being dumped out of the stove.
When the stove was lit a month later on March 14, 2016, “a fired erupted in the stove, caused by the front burner erupting,” court documents state.
Attorney Harold I. Resnic, representing Ealy, said the incident was the first time the stove was lit.
Resnic said Ealy ran into the kitchen to grab a burning pan and place it in the sink when grease and fire scorched her wrist, leg and foot. He said Ealy received first-, second- and third-degree burns, and was treated in the hospital on numerous occasions for the burns and scarring.
In the lawsuit, Ealy contends the stove should not have been installed without first being dried out, professionally examined and tested by the Housing Authority’s employees prior to use.
“It should’ve been protected by a tarp or some form of protection,” Resnic said.
The Easthampton Fire Department’s report of the kitchen fire does not list Ealy in the report. It lists another woman suffering injuries from cooking oil spilled on her right foot, causing second-degree burns. She was taken by the Northampton Fire Department to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
Northampton Fire Chief Duane Nichols said he could not confirm the identity of the person sent to the hospital in the incident due to privacy laws. But Resnic said Ealy is documented as the person injured and sent to the hospital.
Easthampton Fire Chief David Mottor said he does not believe the incident was due to an electrical problem or stove malfunction. In most fires caused by electrical issues, the circuit breaker is tripped, but that was not the case in this incident.
There was no active fire when the department responded to the scene, the fire department report states. The burner on the stove was still glowing and a scorched pan was found in the sink with water running, the report states.
Attorney John Libel, who represents the Easthampton Housing Authority, said his client has not been served the complaint and he has not seen the documents. Libel said the authority does not believe the fire was caused by a malfunction of the stove.
The complaint was initially filed against the “Town of Easthampton,” but Resnic said they are in the process of changing it to the Easthampton Housing Authority.
The authority’s executive director Deborah Walker said she could not comment on the lawsuit.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.