The inspector made recommendations to replace weak batteries in fire alarm control units.
Another recommendation with an obsolete fire alarm control panel and another building at the complex had wiring issues and only partial fire protection.
Former employee Ryan Coyle said he was the sole technician who was only supposed to be responsible for general maintenance at the complex when this inspection was done last September.
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
Family files lawsuit after boy, 11, dies in fire at Altamonte Springs apartment complex Ramon Thomas was asleep when he died during an apartment fire in April. The family filed a lawsuit alleging that the 11-year-old’s death could been avoided if the unit had working smoke detectors. (Osborne & Francis Law Firm/Osborne & Francis Law Firm)
“They gave it to my hand and said, drive around and go see what all this means,” he said. “I made that very clear to the management that I didn’t have any experience in this, that I was willing to do anything other than order the batteries and put them in the same place where they were.”
It was a frantic few minutes as police and fire rushed to save the little boy.
In a lawsuit, the family alleges they don’t believe there was ever a functioning smoke detector in the unit
“Everyone who has a smoke detector understands, too, that if the battery gets low, it starts beeping, and you have to go in and change it,” said Greg Francis, the family’s attorney. “There was never any indication that the batteries were low or needed any type of maintenance to the actual smoke detectors leading up to this.”
Channel 9 visited the complex, and an employee told us to request a comment through the email address provided. So far, we’ve had no response.
We asked that former employee about maintenance inside of units.
“When I got when I got hired on, there was over 300 back service calls or maintenance calls,” Coyle said.
It’s important to note that there was also an inspection in June 2023—three months before that September inspection—with similar issues on outdoor fire safety equipment.
However, this lawsuit centers around the lack of maintenance inside that unit.
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