Family of Melanie Diaz to file lawsuit following fire at Arrive Silver Spring apartments

The Diaz family will share more details along with their attorneys from Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa on Saturday, Sept. 14.

SILVER SPRING, Md. ( DC News Now ) — The family of Melanie Diaz, a Georgetown graduate who died in a February 2023 fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment building is expected to file a lawsuit on her behalf.

The 25-year-old was found dead on the 9th floor of the building’s fire escape stairwell with her dogs.

“The smoke was so dense and so heavy so [firefighters] could barely see in front of them. There should never have been that much smoke in a fire escape,” said Matthew Christ, an attorney from the law firm Domnick Cunningham and Yaffa of Florida that’s representing the Diaz family.

Christ told DC News Now the Diaz family is expected to announce a call for more tenant protections from both the property owner, CP4 Silver Spring LLC, and the building’s management company, Trinity Property Consultants.

“The fire sprinklers, had they been installed would have put out the fire very quickly and would not have led to Melanie’s death,” said Christ, who said the Diaz family believes the companies should have had sprinklers in the apartment.

According to investigators, both sprinklers and working smoke detectors were missing at the time the fire rolled out. Christ said the building also failed to ensure fire protection doors were adequately sustained.

The pending lawsuit is to ensure no tenant is left behind, the Diaz’s attorney shared.

“[Melanie’s parents] want to send the message that profits should never be at the expense of public safety,” said Christ.

Since the passing of Melanie Diaz, the Montgomery County Council signed a law requiring rental buildings to state if the complex has automatic sprinklers.

The law also requires renters to be informed about what their insurance covers, but the Diaz family is arguing for more safety.

“The legislation is forward-looking. It’s designed to prevent future negligence and does not address the negligence that’s already occured,” said Christ.

DC News Now reached out to the property management Trinity Property Consultants and attempted to reach CP4 Silver Spring LLC but they did not have contact information publicly available.

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