Third Lawsuit Filed Against Shreveport Over Fatal Kemp Lane Fire
A third lawsuit has now been filed against the City of Shreveport and the Shreveport Fire Department arising out of the April 6, 2025 fatal fire on Kemp Lane that claimed the lives of Mildred Carter-Rawls and her two granddaughters.
According to KSLA, the newest suit was filed in Caddo Parish District Court by Te Various Robinson, the father of one of the children who died in the fire. The suit reportedly alleges that fire department personnel failed to communicate and act on information that occupants were trapped inside the residence before interior rescue efforts began.
The newly filed petition follows an earlier wrongful death suit filed in March by the sons of Mildred Carter-Rawls, Artilious Saxton and Cleveland Saxton, against the City of Shreveport and the Shreveport Fire Department. In that petition, the plaintiffs allege that a 9-1-1 caller advised emergency communications at approximately 6:37 a.m. that children and their grandmother were inside the home at 2441 Kemp Lane when the fire began. We covered the filing of the earlier suit back in March.
According to that filing, dispatch broadcast a response for a “possible” house fire at approximately 6:38 a.m. to Engines 6 and 8, but did not initially report by radio that multiple people were inside the home. The petition alleges that dispatch later entered that information into the mobile data terminal, but that the responding companies did not review the message before arrival.
The petition identifies Captain Devin Kennedy as the officer in command of Engine 6, which allegedly arrived first at approximately 6:43 a.m. It states that Engine 6 encountered smoke and fire showing from the A-side of the structure and began suppression operations, joined shortly afterward by Engine 4. The plaintiffs allege that no search and rescue efforts were initiated at that point and that no attempt was made to determine whether occupants were inside despite vehicles being parked in the driveway.
The earlier suit further alleges that after most of the fire had been suppressed, Engine 8 arrived and verbally relayed the MDT information that occupants were inside. According to the petition, crews then entered the structure and began search efforts, but by that time Mildred Carter-Rawls and the two children had died.
The Saxton petition lists a series of negligence allegations against the city and department, including failure to perform timely search and rescue, failure to communicate the known presence of occupants, failure to maintain effective communication between dispatch and responding crews, failure to implement proper search procedures, and failure to properly train personnel.
KSLA reports that the Robinson suit raises substantially similar allegations and represents the third civil action filed in connection with the fire. The litigation continues to focus on dispatch communications, scene size-up, and the timing of search operations during the initial fire attack.
