Residents of burned Atlanta apartment building may soon file a lawsuit

ATLANTA — Some residents of an Atlanta apartment complex that suffered major damage in a fire last week are considering filing a lawsuit.

A fire started at The Reserve at LaVista Walk apartments on Friday night after two people began setting off fireworks on the roof.

The top floor was destroyed and the ones below suffered major smoke and water damage.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot spoke with neighbors who say they don’t know what to do next.

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“We don’t know what’s going to happen here, so we cannot plan anything,” Raphael Bittencourt said.

Bittencourt lives in the building, but not in the most heavily damaged portion.

The entire building had to be evacuated, including Bittencourt and his family in the building next door.

He plans to be there on Saturday when a Georgia law firm is holding a news conference to talk about the fire and its impacts as they expect lawsuits to be filed.

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Residents aren’t the only ones being impacted by the fire.

Elliot spoke with Ray West, who says his sister was visiting the apartments when they caught fire, and had to abandon her car in the parking garage.

“My sister’s out of town, so she’s not frustrated, but I’m frustrated because I have to be here to get it,” he said.

Bittencourt has already had to miss a week of work and now has to wait until Monday to get his belongings.

“It’s not only frustrating, it’s like the fact that we don’t have access to our things. We don’t know what’s going to be the future right now,” he explained.

The law firm would not confirm their plans for potential lawsuits to Channel 2 Action News.

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‘Poor decision’ leaves Atlanta apartment fire survivors to seek shelter as flames still burn Red Cross has opened a shelter for those affected by the apartment fire at the Reserve at LaVista Walk on Lavista Road.

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