The Bronx borough president’s office displayed a wreath on Jan. 9, 2023, the second anniversary of the Twin Parks North West fire that claimed 17 lives.
Photo Emily Swanson
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the Bronx borough president’s office displayed a floral wreath to mark the second anniversary of the Twin Parks North West fire that killed 17 people, including eight children. Flags at Borough Hall were lowered to half-staff in honor of the victims.
The fire at Twin Parks North West, which had been home to a large Gambian immigrant community, was the city’s deadliest in decades — and investigations revealed that it likely could have been prevented.
The fire, started by an overworked space heater, spread quickly due to malfunctioning self-closing doors that turned the 19-story building into a chimney, according to a New York Times investigation. The victims died not from the flames but from smoke inhalation.
“Twin Parks was a painful reminder of the work needed to invest in fire safety education and our city`s housing infrastructure so families are provided with safe and quality housing and we prevent a tragedy of this magnitude from ever happening again,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said in a Jan. 9 statement.
On January 9, 2022, our Borough faced a horrific 5-alarm residential fire at Twin Parks Northwest that would claim the lives of 17 of our residents. We are grateful for our first responders and everyone who helped and supported our families. We honor. We reflect. We remember. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/9rI2tIhLDz
— Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers) (@Vanessalgibson) January 9, 2024
The fire prompted a slew of new legislation at the city, state and federal levels.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced a bipartisan bill to empower the U.S. Fire Administrator to conduct on-site investigations of major fires and produce reports detailing the findings. Prior to President Biden signing this bill in Dec….
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