The family of the 80-year-old man who died in a Jersey City four-alarm fire Monday plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit, their attorney said today.

Walter Highsmith, who was wheelchair-bound, was found dead Monday afternoon in the rear of the Bramhall Avenue apartment he shared with his son. A preliminary autopsy report said that Highsmith died of smoke inhalation, authorities said.

Highsmith's daughter, Iris Highsmith, said Tuesday that she blames the Jersey City Fire Department and police at the scene for her dad's death.

"I told several firefighters to look for him and they told me the whole building was evacuated," said Highsmith, who noted she got there soon after the fire that burned two side-by-side buildings broke out. "Then the chief came to us and said (firefighters) couldn't get to him, the smoke was too dark and they couldn't get through the first two rooms.

"In my heart, yes, I think my father died because they didn't find him in time," she said.



Terry Ridley, a Newark attorney representing the family, said he plans to file a notice of tort claim next week against the city and the fire and police departments.

Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman said on Tuesday that firefighters discovered the body during their primary search of the building, before family members arrived and told firefighters that their father was in the building. Irish Highsmith said she works at the Post Office at the Bergen and Harrison avenues and rushed over to the building when she saw the smoke, which could be seen for miles.

Roman said officials at the scene waited until a department chaplain arrived to tell Highsmith's son and daughter that he had died in the fire.

Ridley said there "are indications firefighters and police saw (Highsmith) in the window." He also said that witnesses said there was a generator at the building next door, which also burned, and that may have caused the fire.

Fire officials said the fire is believed to have started at 625 Bramhall, where Highsmith lived, and spread to 627 Bramhall. Iris Highsmith believes the fire, which is still under investigation, started at 627 Bramhall and spread to her father's building.