Northern District Judge David Hurd (See Profile) has kept alive a claim that firemen in Utica fight fires and rescue victims less aggressively in buildings with low-income residents than in more upscale dwellings. Hurd ruled that the plaintiffs have made a "plausible" case in Bush v. City of Utica, 6:12-cv-1444, of violations of their constitutional right to equal protection and allegations fire fighters were improperly trained and supervised.
The plaintiffs are the surviving relatives of four people killed in a 2009 apartment house blaze in a low-income neighborhood. They say their relatives could have been saved had firefighters immediately searched for the victims who perished in apartments at the back of the building. They contend that Fire Chief Russell Brooks told bystanders that he was not "going to risk the lives of any members of the department for individuals" in the building, according to the complaint.
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