Diaz and Torres Announce Legislation to Prevent Fires By Unsupervised Children

Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz and Council Member Ritchie Torres plan to implement new regulations this week to prevent tragedies like last years Bronx Fire.

In December of last year, a three-year-old child started a fire that engulfed Bronx apartment building, killing 13 people. The fire on Prospect Avenue was one of the deadliest fires New York City had seen in 25 years. The building caught fire after a three-year-old child played with the stovetop in his apartment. It grew when tenants failed to close their doors as they fled. Today, Bronx Lawmakers have announced legislation to prevent another tragedy.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Council Member Ritchie Torres announced new fire safety and prevention laws for apartments with small children under six years old.

“We know that the Belmont Fire was as preventable as it was fragile. And it could have been prevented or at least mitigated by the laws that we are implementing this week,” said Council Member Ritchie Torres at a press conference in front of the still-damaged Prospect Avenue apartment building.

The new laws will require safety devices, such as knob covers for gas stoves in apartments with children younger than six. Owners of buildings with three or more units will be required to provide and install these safety devices in units with young children. In addition, any tenant in a building with three or more units can request these knob covers and their request cannot be denied.

“Just as we require window guards in apartments with young children, we should also require that stoves be made safer through the installation of approved safety devices,” said Diaz in a statement. “This tragic fire could have been prevented, had this young child been unable to tamper with the knob of the stove in his apartment.”

In addition, the New York City Fire Department and the Department of Education will create and implement a plan to educate families about fire safety and fire prevention.

The legislation is set to take effect this Thursday.

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Aislinn Keely contributed to this report.