PORT ARTHUR, Texas — July 4, 2019, marks one year from the single deadliest fire to happen in Port Arthur since 2009.
On July 4, 2018, 2-year-old Brooklyn McCray, 6-year-old Brayden Handy and 12-year-old Jayden Pollard were all killed after their apartment caught fire at the Arthur Square Apartments.
12News obtained a copy of a lawsuit filed by the children's parents detailing the complaints against the complex, in which the family claims the apartment complex failed to comply with suitable codes and regulations.
The lawsuit states "because the apartment was not safe for habitation, neither the fire department, tenants, or children were timely alerted to the smoke and fire."
It goes on to say "as a result the plaintiff's children were unable to escape the fire."
After further investigation from 12News, we uncovered that the Arthur Square apartment complex failed two safety inspections before the fire.
One inspection was made on June 20, two weeks before the fire happened.
12News learned that James Payne and Darren Brown of Provost Umphrey Law Firm are representing the children's mother, Tikeshia McCray and Byron Alfred of VB Attorneys is representing the children's' fathers.
In a statement, Alfred told 12News "the facts uncovered from the years prior to the incident are some of the most egregious examples of negligence I've ever seen, and I look forward to trialing the case."
The case is set for trial on December 6.
We did reach out to the Arthur Square complex for comment, but we have been unable to get in touch with them yet.