BUFFALO, N.Y. — The wife of fallen Buffalo Firefighter Jason Arno has filed a notice of claim against the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Fire Department — citing the city and department’s “negligence, recklessness and carelessness” in responding to the deadly four-alarm fire that claimed the life of her husband.
Sarah-Liz Tierney filed the notice of claim on April 20, nearly two months after her husband was killed while battling a fire at 745 Main Street on March 1.
“We've uncovered a number of things that it appears the city did do incorrectly, including allowing firefighters to work out of the title,” said Charles Desmond of Gibson, McAskill & Crosby, LLP, who is representing Tierney.
Investigators believe Arno — a three-year member of the Buffalo Fire Department serving with Engine 2 — was killed by collapsing debris but are looking into whether the collapse was triggered by a backdraft, which caused a fiery explosion, or if the collapse occurred first.
The claimant’s legal team conducted an internal investigation, which included audio, video, and interviews with over 30 firefighters from that day.
Following that investigation, the widow made multiple allegations about the handling of the fire, including that the city and department knew the building was vacant and too dangerous to enter, didn’t follow proper mayday procedures, and failed to train Arno and his supervisors to respond to the situation.
The Buffalo fire chief stood by the actions of his department a day after the deadly fire, despite the death of Arno.
“It was safe to enter at the time, and the chief made that determination, so no, I cannot say there were any mistakes made in that fire,” said Buffalo Fire Chief William Renaldo on March 2.
The notice also says the claimant is seeking monetary compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, past and future loss of wages, and medical and funeral expenses — among other things.
But the widow’s attorney told 2 On Your Side his client’s main goal is to prevent other families from going through something similar.
“This is the type of thing that could have been prevented,” he said. “That's why they're so adamant about getting the actual cause and trying to prevent this from happening in the future.”
Desmond says there is no timeline for a potential suit or determined monetary amount for the damages, but he believes, given the details they know, that a suit will be filed.
You can read the notice of claim here:
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