It is a grim beginning of 2022 for Philadelphia and New York City, as two deadly fires have already shocked and traumatized the people of these cities. The two tragedies have something in common: they occurred in affordable housing. For many, this is not coincidental. Fires in affordable housing complexes are a recurring event in many places.
On Wednesday, 5th of January, twelve people (of which eight were children) perished in a violent blaze that took over a public housing building in the neighborhood of Fairmount in Philadelphia. The building, which was supposed to host only two families, was inhabited by 26 people, and, according to some reports, it lacked fully functioning smoke detectors or other fire safety precautions. These two factors formed a recipe for disaster for the residents of this house.
Only four days later, on the 9th of January, another tragedy, this time in the Bronx, NYC. A low-income apartment building was struck by flames, resulting in the death of nineteen people, including nine children. The fire was ignited by a malfunctioning space heater, which was in use because of the lack of proper heating in the apartments. The entirety of the building was engulfed in smoke due to a door that failed to close, resulting in many more injuries. Complaints about the poor state of the complex and the lack of heat were reportedly ignored or whitewashed.
There are glaring similarities between these two cases. Aside from the obvious tragedy and loss of innocent lives, the commonalities include neglect by the parties responsible for the buildings, lack of fire safety measures, and overcrowding. Aside from these factors, there are others that tie the people affected together. They were all people forced to live in unsuitable buildings because of a lack of affordable options and fear of homelessness. And, most of all, these tragedies were both avoidable.
Similar cases to these have been observed time and time again. A similar fire to the one in Fairmount had already occurred in North Philadelphia in 2018, killing four people. In the UK, a housing safety crisis has been unfolding for many years. In 2009, a fire in the Lakanal House tower block in London killed 6. However, the biggest and most shocking tragedy is the story of Grenfell Tower, where corner-cutting and neglect led to the loss of 72 lives, of which many children and infants.
The reoccurring instance of people dying in low-income or social housing is an unacceptable loss of life. Governments and companies have to do better in upholding safety standards and protecting the rights of those communities that rely on subsidized houses and buildings. As the need for affordable housing grows during the pandemic, we cannot let financial profit overshadow the value of human lives. We must call for an investigation into these events and urgent action to prevent others like them.
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