Renter with no insurance, faulty fire extinguisher?

my friend is being hassled by the insurance company on her rental property. she put something on the stove that caught fire when she left the room. from what i have read, that makes her negligent. however, there was a faulty fire extinguisher. it did not work at all. there was also a possible problem with the electric stove that came with the house. she didn't know it at the time because, first of all, she never used an electric stove before, and secondly, she assumed that the smoking from one of the burners was just food and cleaned it out really good all the time. also, the rental property was actually a home. so when the landlord moved out, she never changed her policy from home-owner's policy to a rental insurance policy. shouldn't that make a difference? my friend has absolutely nothing for them to take anyway except a car that's probably worth about $5K and the damages are $82K. she probably makes about $22K per year and has three kids. what can they possibly do to her

btw, the fire extinguisher came with the house where she had been living for about six or eight months

The landlord is responsible for anything that came with the house as part of the rental (appliances and safety equipment included). Health and safety issues are always the responsibility of the property owner.
If they were faulty, the owner of the property should be liable - not the renter, unless the fire was somehow proven to be deliberately set. Get a lawyer through a renters' advocacy program (see yellow pages)


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Landlord responsibilities / renters rights (in brief):
You have the right to a decent and safe place to live
State law requires that the landlord:

Meet the requirements of local building and health codes concerning the condition of your apartment.
Make the necessary repairs to keep your home in livable condition.
Keep all common areas shared by two or more apartments of the property in clean and safe condition.

***** Maintain in good and safe working condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning units as well as other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord. *****

Make a reasonable effort to prevent the accumulation of moisture and the growth of mold.
Provide and maintain good quality trash cans and trash pick-up services in common areas of the apartments.
Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times as well as reasonable air conditioning, if provided, and heat when needed.

Good luck!