RICHMOND, Ind. Documents filed Monday by a Richmond recycling company details a new lawsuit against the city alleging that officials knew of the building’s dangers in 2021 when they acquired it from previous owners.
The lawsuit also alleges the city did not evict the company or shut down operations prior to the industrial fire in April, meaning it is ultimately responsible for the incident.
The fire started at an industrial site on NW F Street in Richmond on April 11. It burned for five days as firefighters actively battled the blaze as tons of discarded plastic, destined for recycling, burned.
Over two thousand neighbors were evicted from their homes for days and many reported headaches, sore throats, dizziness, skin rashes and chest pains.
Media partners reported that the burnt facility was a former lawn mower manufacturer that had been closed for years and was being used for storage.
Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said the facility was used for recycling, storing plastics and other materials.
The fire was fully involved, Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said during the investigation into the fire. It was fully loaded with unknown types of plastic. Filled from wall to wall.
Brown added that the facility is huge and has an area of about 175,000 square feet. He also said this fire may have been preventable.
The owner of the Richmond plastic recycling business did not initially make any public comments or respond to media inquiries. A 2019 tape released by the city attorney showed owner Seth Smith speaking to the city’s Unsafe Buildings Commission.
In that recording, Smith admitted there was a lot of work to be done there.
The commission had given Smith 90 days to clear the fire and other safety hazards on the property, however in the three and a half years between the meeting and the fire it was unclear how much plastic had been removed.
Court documents filed Monday said the building in which the fire occurred was owned by the city of Richmond and not by Cornerstone Trading Group, LLC or Seth Smith. They add that the company did not cause or contribute to the release of hazardous substances and therefore was not responsible for the accident.
The company said the fire was started by a mysterious arsonist and could not have been due to electrical causes as the electricity had previously been cut off.
The brief filed Monday names the city of Richmond as a co-defendant and asks for testimony from Mayor Snow and the city’s attorney.
Because the costs of the damages were paid from other sources, Cornerstone adds, as the defendant, they should not be required to reimburse the City of Richmond.
To this day, federal and state authorities continue to monitor site cleanliness and review testing for indications of hazardous debris.
FOX59 asked for comments from both Cornerstone and the City of Richmond on the filings and received no response until Wednesday evening.
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