We call on Mayor Joseph P. Ganim and the Fire Department to immediately provide a plan and schedule for performing fire-safety inspections of ALL public multi-family housing units in Bridgeport.
In November 2009, Bridgeport resident 22-year-old Tiana Black and her three young children died in a fire in their home in the PT Barnum public housing complex.
In its 5-1 decision on Dec 18, 2017, the CT State Supreme Court ruled that:
"A jury considering all the relevant circumstances, reasonably could find the defendants [the City of Bridgeport's] persistent failure to inspect the decedents' apartment and thousands of other multi family units in Bridgeport in violation of their statutory duty under state law arose from and exemplified a pattern of reckless disregard for public health or safety and created a foreseeable and substantial risk that some tragedy of this general sort would occur."
According to a 12-19-17 article in the Connecticut Post:
"In the days following the fire, residents of the housing complex and community activists raised questions about fire safety in the West Side complex, citing the unit's single door for entry and exits and the lack of sprinklers and fire escapes. City officials contended the P.T. Barnum complex complied with all fire codes."
Let's get out ahead of this before a preventable tragedy strikes again.
