Medford settles with landlord of killed student

Wendy Carman's landlord agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $53,000 to the City of Medford, the city said on Wednesday.

Carman, a 20-year-old from Tacoma, WA, was killed when a fire on the night of Jan. 18 engulfed her illegal loft on Harris Rd. in Medford. The loft violated a number of building code regulations, including inadequate exits from the room, according to Medford's building inspector.

In exchange for the cash settlement, authorities decided not to file criminal charges related to the 12 alleged building code violations against Shaffer.

According to Medford City Solicitor Mark Rumly, the settlement reimbursed the cost of $6,500 for additional police and firefighters, as well as an additional "gross sum" payment to deter landlords from future violations.

"The dollars that we receive for this will go a long way towards this effort" of creating awareness in the community, Rumly said.

The alleged violations could have resulted in a sentence of up to one year in jail if the case had gone to criminal court, but city officials felt that the fine would be a more effective means of promoting public safety.

Rumly said that the city had pursued every violation they had, but thought that "the likelihood that they would impose some sort of prison sentence was unlikely" if officials had gone to a criminal proceeding.

It was the first time a city in Massachusetts has ever received reimbursement for fire costs, Rumly said. Some of the settlement money will also go towards funding a city mandate to inspect all apartments before new tenants move in.

However, some believe that the fine amounted to a slap on the wrist. "$53,000 for a life? I don't agree with that," an anonymous landlord said. "I think [Shaffer] should go to jail if he knew she was there. He broke the law and should see some jail time."

The fire incited concern among Medford and Tufts officials, according to Tufts Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel. "The [Medford] mayor's response was to see that this not happen again."

Immediately after the fire, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn announced that inspection of housing units would become a major priority.

Somerville mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay supported McGlynn's proposal. If enacted in both cities, the regulations would apply to all off-campus housing near the University.

The cost of such inspections, however, presents financial and logistical challenges for Medford. To support the city's efforts, Tufts recently decided to contribute $25,000 to the city.

Although no legislation has yet been passed, "city officials are looking to get something in the books," Rubel said, and "eventually something will happen."

The rest of the settlement money will go to support the Shriners Burn Institute to support other fire victims. "The whole foundation for this effort was to raise awareness for everyone," Rumly said.

Jonathan Graham contributed to this article.