Resident who suffered severe burns in 2023 arson sues Ivy Crossing Apartments for liability, negligence

A former resident of the Arapahoe County apartment complex that was deliberately set on fire in 2023 is suing the owners for failing to protect residents, according to court records.

The fire killed one resident, hospitalized two others and displaced more than 20 other people.

Natalia Paszkowski, one of the residents seriously injured in the fatal arson, filed the lawsuit Monday against Ivy Crossing Apartments, Asset Living and the Echelon Property Group in Arapahoe County District Court, according to court records.

The apartment complex includes multiple buildings on the corner of Quebec Street and East Harvard Avenue. According to the lawsuit, Asset Living and the Echelon Property Group acted as the property managers for the apartments.

Just after 4 a.m. on April 8, 2023, Paszkowski awoke in her third-floor apartment to smoke crawling under her door, according to the lawsuit. She tried to escape but collapsed from the smoke.

Paszkowski was stuck in the fire-filled apartment for 20 minutes before being rescued by South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters.

She suffered third-degree burns to both hands “with skin falling off due to the severity,” according to the lawsuit, as well as additional second- and third-degree burns to her head and face.

The lawsuit’s claims depend on whether the apartment complex owners can be classified as landowners under Colorado’s Premises Liability Act, Paszkowski’s attorney Matthew Holycross said.

If they can, Paszkowski’s lawsuit claims all three defendants failed to use reasonable care to protect the apartment residents from dangerous conditions on the property that the owners knew about or should have known about. It also claims the owners and property managers failed to take reasonable steps to protect residents from harm.

If the apartment owners and managers are not classified as landowners, the lawsuit will pursue alternative common law negligence claims that can’t be filed against landowners in Colorado, Holycross said.

Months before the fire, a South Metro Fire Rescue inspection at the apartment complex revealed multiple fire code violations. According to the lawsuit, the February 2023 inspection noted:

• Failures to keep fire doors closed
• Exit signs hanging from electrical wires
• Missing manual fire alarm systems
• Missing or expired fire extinguishers
• Fire doors on the first floor that failed to latch securely when closed or that had damaged or missing closing mechanisms

“At least one fire alarm in the third-floor hallway was completely missing and was just a set of wires hanging and terminating into nothing,” the lawsuit stated. “At least one fire extinguisher box in the third-floor hallway was completely empty.”

Because of those violations, the fire spread much quicker and more violently than it would have with the proper safety precautions in place, according to the lawsuit.

Paszkowski is seeking compensation for pain and suffering; a loss of enjoyment of life; physical, mental and emotional pain and distress; medical and rehabilitation expenses; and a loss of past and future income.

Ivy Crossing could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

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