NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Following a Bronx apartment fire that killed 17 residents earlier this month, New York lawmakers are looking to create new federal fire safety legislation to prevent future incidents.
FDNY officials have said that a faulty space heater was the cause of the apartment fire, and two doors that should have automatically shut remained open, allowing smoke to billow through the building.
Authorities noted that smoke inhalation was the cause of all fatalities in the fire.
Now, Rep. Ritchie Torres and Sen. Chuck Schumer are looking to make sure incidents like that never happened again.
The two introduced a four-point federal fire safety package on Tuesday, which includes a law requiring space heaters to have an automatic shut off and another to mandate that all federally funded housing units have self-closing doors.
“There are more than 18,000 open violations in more than 10,000 buildings, including in the ZIP code in which the fire took place,” Torres explained.
Another law being pushed by the two federal lawmakers would mandate sprinkler systems be installed in all federally funded housing units.
“If we can get that done, we can set the model for the whole country, so this doesn't happen again,” Schumer said. “Action on these points will definitely save lives. That's what the experts tell us.”
Torres added that if passed, any landlords that are found to be in violation of the rules would be held responsible for any unsafe conditions that may arise.
“Federal enforcement is required,” he said.
Torres and Schumer announced their ambitious goals at the Bronx high-rise where the deadly fire took place and learned that many tenants have chosen not to move back.
Instead, they have been given Section 8 vouchers to rent someplace else in the city.
Related
Related
Related
