N.B. seeks to settle jail fire class-action lawsuit for $1.28M
The New Brunswick government has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates over a 2017 jail fire believed to have started by a worker's discarded cigarette.
The New Brunswick Office of the Fire Marshal determined the Oct. 25, 2017, fire at the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac was accidental.
It ruled the fire likely happened when a discarded cigarette butt fell between the openings of a wooden ramp and ignited a pile of dry leaves in a non-smoking area only employees could access.
In 2018, inmates at the jail filed a class-action lawsuit against the province alleging negligence by staff led to violations of the rights of the inmates, as well as physical and psychological harm.
A class action is a type of lawsuit where one or more people, called representative plaintiffs, sue on behalf of a larger group, or class, claiming similar harms.
The case was certified as a class action by a judge in 2020, allowing it to proceed.
Documents in the case file say a settlement was reached in June that would see the province pay $1.27 million. The settlement must still be approved by a judge.
Province denies liability
The documents in the file say despite the settlement, the province denies the truth of the allegations in the lawsuit and denies any liability.
A spokesperson for the province said it wouldn't comment on the proposed settlement.
The jail fire representative plaintiffs are Jessy Timothy Rose and Lee Mitchell, with a class of 162 people who could be eligible to make a claim for settlement funds.
The proposed settlement would see all class members able to claim a basic payment of up to $5,000. Inmates with proof of physical or psychological injuries could claim larger amounts.
Inmates described their experience during the fire in documents filed in the class-action case. (Submitted by Rodrick Bourque)
Affidavits from inmates described their experience during the fire.
Jamie Cassie was in his bunk when he noticed it was getting dark outside and others in the jail unit, which had about 40 people, started yelling "fire" and banging on cell doors.
Cassie described smoke starting to enter the cell through the vents, which he and his cellmate tried to block with clothing, bedding, toothbrushes and toilet paper.
"I then began to kick the door," Cassie stated. "I was hoping to kick it down, desperate to get out but I knew this was unlikely. I felt like a caged animal in a burning building and that the guards didn't care."
Eventually the guards did move inmates outside to a recreation yard and then another area, where he described still being able to feel heat from the fire.
The lawsuit says inmates in certain units were moved to outdoor areas, while the fire continued burning adjacent structures, with flames and debris blowing into the yards where the inmates were being held.
The case alleged several inmates suffered burns and emotional trauma from being held near the fire.
The Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac, shown in satellite imagery. (Google Map Data 2017)
Mitchell described being in a unit with about 50 other people when a jail guard told them to immediately go to a recreation yard attached to the unit.
Mitchell called it a small space for 50 men, given it had a capacity for 10 and was an estimated six by 12 metres. The space filled with smoke, and he used his shirt to cover his face.
Mitchell described eventually seeing large flames over an adjacent wall, and that the inmates standing shoulder-to-shoulder started to demand to be relocated.
"I could feel the heat of the fire in the building we were locked up next to," Mitchell said.
He described guards eventually zip-tying their hands and moving them to an area several metres away but still close enough to feel the heat of the fire, where he remained for hours.
"The entire experience of being locked up for hours next to a burning building caused me a significant amount of stress and anxiety," Mitchell stated.
The fire led to inmates being relocated and some housed in temporary trailers while the building was repaired.
The case returns to court Nov. 28.
