Family claims negligence played part in triple fatal fire in Clifton

The brother of one of three people killed in a November 2022 fire in Clifton is accusing the landlord and other local and state entities of negligence in the tragic blaze.

James Warga filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court in Passaic County on Monday. His brother, Steven R. Warga, his sister-in-law Elaine Warga and Elaine's mother, Helen Popovich, were killed in a house fire on Nov. 18, 2022. His nephew, Steven J. Warga, who also lived in the home, was able to escape the fire and is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated the Wargas and Popovich were legal tenants of the home, which was rented to them by Richard Ceynowa, who is named in the lawsuit.

Also named in the lawsuit is the New Jersey Department of Treasury Bureau, the Department of Community Affairs, Passaic County and its Office of Emergency Management coordinator, Clifton, the city fire department, the Clifton Fire Dispatch and State Farm Insurance Company.

Officials from the state, the county, Clifton, Clifton Fire Department and State Farm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit claims Ceynowa failed to properly maintain the air conditioning units and smoke detectors and did not provide proper ingress and egress at the home. According to the lawsuit, Steven J. Warga was able to escape the flames but Popovich, Elaine Warga and Steven R. Warga were trapped inside the house because of the intense fire and smoke.

Additionally, the lawsuit said Ceynowa didn't provide the home with fire extinguishers or working smoke detectors and didn't listen to warnings from the tenants regarding "a smoke and/or fire condition at the property." It also stated he failed to hire "adequate security and management personnel," hired personnel that were negligent and failed to supervise and train them.

The suit accuses the Clifton Fire Department of providing a late response, took an "extended period of time" to enter the Ladwik Lane home and didn't use a ladder to attempt to rescue the three people inside.

James Warga claimed there was an "utter failure" on the Clifton Fire Department's part to use all its available resources and didn't properly train and supervise its employees allowing the victims "to burn alive."

The suit also said Steven J. Warga witnessed the death of his family which resulted in physical and psychological injuries and lost his personal property and belongings in the fire.

James Warga said the defendants had "a duty to act reasonably but failed to do so" and "allowed an unsafe condition to exist and persist, failed to take safety precautions, failed to have the necessary and requisite equipment to save" the victims and "were otherwise negligent, careless and reckless in the performance of their responsibilities and duties. "

The lawsuit stated that State Farm Insurance Company had a duty to make sure the HVAC units at Ladwik Lane were preserved for pending or probably litigation but failed to do so resulting in the loss or destruction of evidence and were negligent in allowing the HVAC units to be destroyed or lost.

The Wargas both lived in Clifton for most of their lives as did Popovich, according to their obituaries. Before she retired, Elaine Warga was a cashier at Target and was a rental agent with the Richfield Village Apartments and was a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Passaic.

Steven R. Warga was an electronic technician for years before he retired and was a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Passaic with his wife.

Popovich was born in Forest City, Pennsylvania and worked at Shulton Corporation in Clifton for years before she retired. Like her daughter and son-in-law, she was a member at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Passaic, where she was a member of the choir.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Family claims negligence played part in triple fatal fire in Clifton