We represented the families of two women who were killed in an apartment fire in Washington, DC. The two women lit an incense stick and placed it at the base of an artificial tree in their apartment. Unfortunately, the straw around the tree base caught fire and the resulting fire blocked the women’s ability to escape through the front door. Tragically, when they attempted to escape through the apartment’s windows, they were unable to because the windows were permanently barred with bars. It is a small relief that the women died of smoke inhalation and did not suffer any burn injuries. We filed suit against the building owner for creating an unreasonably dangerous condition by barring the windows. The owner refused to make any settlement offer due to the fact the two women themselves started the fire that killed them and also because both women did not have close family at the time of their deaths. However, after extensive investigation, we were able to provide legal authority calling into question whether the building owner could attempt to blame the women for starting the fire. We were also able to locate additional family members for both women. We were then able to resolve the case through mediation, prior to trial.