Victim's family files suit in office building fire

Looks like Misty Ann Weaver's defense attorneys won't be the only people picking through the rubble of the burned-out office building on the North Loop: The family of Jeanette Hargrove, one of three people killed in the March 28 fire, has filed suit against the building's owners and Weaver, the nurse who has confessed to setting the blaze, and they want their own investigation of the structure's fire safety systems. The suit, filed on behalf of Jeanette's husband Willie (shown at left with Jeanette) and his stepdaughter, 16-year-old Porsha Daniels, alleges that the building at 9343 North Loop East didn't have adequate fire suppression systems, and that allowed the fire to quickly spread throughout the building's top two floors. "If something detected fire, it didn't warn anybody," the Hargroves' attorney, Randall Sorrels, told the Chronicle. "If a sprinkler system detected fire, it didn't suppress it. But, more importantly, there should have been devices that detected smoke and fire and gave adequate warning to tenants."

City records show that the building had no code violations when inspectors last visited it in March 2005, and officials have said it met the requirements for buildings of its type and age. There are still questions about the building's fire alarm system: Some people who made it out of the building said they heard no alarm at all, while others said they heard a faint buzzing, but many reported they had no warning that the building was on fire. Boxer Property Management, the building's owner, denies that there were problems with the sprinkler or alarm systems.

The lawsuit asks for damages for Jeanette Hargrove's physical and mental pain and suffering and her husband's and daughter's emotional pain and anguish as well as damages resulting from the loss of her care, support and companionship.