Jacksonville, FL – The lack of required smoke detectors in a mobile home was the primary reason 5 year old Caydon Anderson will never see his beloved father Jemarr again. On May 18, 2015, 26-year-old Jemarr Anderson was asleep in a mobile home at 7582 Sonia Drive in Jacksonville when a fire broke out. The young father died of smoke inhalation in the fire that scorched the home.
Now, the owner of that mobile home, who rented it to Anderson, has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed by The Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com )on behalf of the victim’s son.
An investigation and deposition testimony revealed that the death may have been prevented if the mobile home had the appropriate fire safety measures in place, including the required number of operating smoke detectors. Current codes and ordinances require a smoke alarm in each bedroom and a central living space. Anderson was asleep in the master bedroom, where there was no smoke detector.
The mobile home only had one of the life-saving smoke detection devices at the time of the fire. It was located at the opposite end of the home from Jemarr’s bedroom.
“Despite owning numerous properties in Florida and specifically Duval County, the defendant admitted during a deposition that he did not know what the specific governing fire safety regulations required or what fire safety measures were in place at the property” says Pedro Echarte of The Haggard Law Firm.
