Twin Parks community, family members rally to demand better building safety measures

Community leaders and neighbors rallied for justice Thursday for the families of the Twin Parks fire.

News 12 Staff

Jan 13, 2022, 11:33 AM

Updated 1,058 days ago

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Community leaders and neighbors rallied for justice Thursday for the families of the Twin Parks fire.
The devastation from the fire is a feeling with which the Bronx is familiar. In 2017, a fire ripped through a Belmont building and killed 12 people. This past weekend, 17 people died in Fordham. Both buildings housed immigrant families. Now the community is calling again for justice and change.
African immigrants, Hispanic community leaders along with family members demanded justice, answers and immediate support for the victims of the Twin Parks fire.
They are demanding that more be done to protect residents.
After the Belmont fire, safety measures were put in place in an attempt to stop a deadly fire of that magnitude from happening again.
One of those changes was a mandate passed by City Council for self-closing doors. Those failed in the Twin Parks fire.
Mayor Eric Adams stated via Twitter, "No one affected by the Bronx Fire is being asked to leave their emergency hotels."
Adam says families who can access their homes have the option to return if they would like and that hotel rooms are still available if needed. 
A memorial lines the fence just below the Twin Parks Northwest apartment building full of flowers, faces and lights in memory of the 17 victims. Families, friends and students of P.S. 391 visited the site to pay their respects to those lost.
The school is also providing counseling for the students as they process the tragedy.