Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney who is representing survivors and families of victims of the fire, told WPIX Tuesday morning that an investigation is still underway. “Believe you me, if the city has culpability, we’re going to make sure that these Black people get full justice,” he said.

The fire was the deadliest in New York City since the 1990 fire at the Happy Land social club, also in the Bronx, that killed 87 people. In the days and weeks since the January fire, details have come to light about potential safety violations in the building that may have worsened the fire’s impact.

During a Tuesday press conference announcing the suit, Crump said that a breach of safety rules in the building led to the deaths and injuries, WABC reported.

“These are people who were just starting their lives, and they died one of the most miserable, awful deaths that you can ever die from. That’s smoke inhalation,” Crump said. “We believe that has a direct correlation to the safety rules being violated.”

Crump also said the building’s owner and management company are named in the suit, according to WPIX.

The fire broke out on January 9 in the 19-story apartment building, Twin Parks North West, which is at 333 East 181st Street near Webster Avenue.

Daniel Nigro, commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, said during a news conference that day that the fire began shortly before 11 a.m. and spread through the second and third floors of the building. In addition to the 17 who died, he said, 63 people suffered “severe smoke inhalation” and 32 had to be taken to the hospital.

Nigro cited a malfunctioning electric space heater in the bedroom of a third-floor apartment as the cause of the fire. He also said that two malfunctioning doors likely added to the severity of the blaze, Newsweek reported.

“The numbers are horrific,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during the news conference. “This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times.”

The mayor’s press office declined Newsweek’s comment request.

Update 02/08/2022, 5:15 p.m. ET: This story was updated to reflect that the mayor’s press office had declined to comment.