Vt. officials give safety tips following deadly NY, PA, fires - WCAX

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - In the past seven days, deadly fires at apartment complexes in Philadelphia and the Bronx claimed the lives of nearly 30 people, many of them children. Rachel Mann spoke with Vermont fire officials about what tenants can do to protect themselves and what they should expect from landlords.

In both fires, there was evidence of the buildings not being up to code. Here in Vermont, officials say they follow NFPA standards. “You know fire safety and apartment buildings it’s a shared responsibility,” said Michael Desrochers, executive director of the Department for Fire Safety. “It’s not all put on the landlord. Tenants have responsibilities as well.”

Desrochers said if the buildings in Pennsylvania and New York had been up to code, things might have ended differently. In Philadelphia, the building was found not to have working smoke detectors. “We encourage people to mark the smoke alarms when they get put in with the date that they’re installed and so that down the road they can easily look at the date and have the detector swapped out,” Desrochers said.

In the Bronx, self-closing doors weren’t working, making it difficult for people to escape the smoke and flames. Williston Fire Captain Prescott Nadeau said doors can be the difference between life or death. “It puts a barrier between you and the fire and smoke and hot gases that exist in a fire environment,” he explained.

Fire officials said a faulty space heater started the fire in New York. “Have a three-foot barrier around those space heaters to make sure that no flammable objects are within an arm’s length,” Prescott said. He also warned against propping them up and plugging them into extension cords.

Desrocher said all of these precautions could have helped avert the tragedies. “We offer our thoughts and prayers to all the families and the first responders who were affected by these tragedies,” he said.

Data from the Department of Public Safety shows about 42% of fires in Vermont happen in buildings with three or more units.

Desrochers says if your unit doesn’t have working fire alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and working doors, contact your landlord. He said newer buildings should have sprinkler systems as well. The buildings in Philadelphia and the Bronx did not. Desrochers said if they had, the death tolls would likely be much lower.

Copyright 2022 WCAX. All rights reserved.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Vt. officials give safety tips following deadly NY, PA, fires - WCAX )
https://ift.tt/31QKbFO