Firefighters from Penticton and Summerland responded to a blaze at Clarence House, located at 217 Elm Avenue in Penticton Oct. 27, 2020.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Former residents of a Penticton apartment building gutted by fire in 2020 have launched a civil suit accusing the owners of a first-floor apartment of starting the fire.

The fire claimed the lives of two residents, William and Margaret Taylor, when flames engulfed the building in the middle of the night in October 2020.

Dozens of people had to be evacuated from the three-storey condominium building on Elm Road that night, along with guests staying at nearby hotels.

"It was unbelievable, it went up in 20 minutes," one eyewitness told iNFOnews.ca at the time.

Two-and-a-half years later, three people who lived in condos on the second floor are taking legal action.

Wade Haft and Nora Hunt-Haft, and Dominque Gautier have launched separate suits against William Walter Ten Veen and Cheryl Lynn Samuels.

The couple is accused of "improperly, negligent and/or carelessly discarded smoking materials."

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"The Fire spread from the Defendants’ Property to the Plaintiff’s Unit and caused damage to the Plaintiff’s Unit and the contents within the Plaintiff’s Unit. As a result of the Fire and the damage to the Plaintiff’s Unit, the plaintiff suffered loss, damage and expense," the notice of claim reads.

The suit says the fire was "caused or contributed to" by the acts, omissions, negligence, breaches of duty and nuisance of Ten Veen and Samuels.

The notice of claims states Ten Veen and Samuels breached their duty of care by failing to take reasonable care when smoking at or near the property.

The notice of claim also accuses the couple of "carelessly discarding smoking material" and "carelessly discarding smoking material" in or around the condo building.

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None of the allegations have been proven in court and the defendants have not filed a response to the case.

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