Survivors of a February 2023 fire at a Silver Spring apartment complex that took the life of 25-year-old Melanie Diaz testified to the County Council in support of a bill that would require a residential lease to include information related to renter’s insurance, automatic sprinkler systems and emergency evacuation and safety plans.
“My daughter lost her life because people cut corners,” Melanie Diaz’s father, Cesar Diaz, said through tears, testifying in support of the legislation. “This building did not provide for my daughter’s safety… nobody cared.”
The legislation, sponsored by Council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), was inspired by the fire at Arrive, which is in her district, as well as a massive power outage at The Grand, a North Bethesda apartment complex, last summer.
The bill would require multiunit apartment complex owners to notify residents and prospective renters about whether their buildings have sprinklers and provide information about the risks of living in a building without sprinklers.
Diaz died following a three-alarm fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex on Feb. 18, 2023. At least 17 other residents and three firefighters were hospitalized, and nearly 400 residents were displaced after their units were condemned. The complex’s lack of sprinklers, which weren’t required under state law, came under scrutiny by public officials.
According to state law and county regulations, sprinklers are not required in every unit of buildings built prior to 1974. More than 70 apartment complexes countywide don’t have sprinklers in every unit, according to multiple news reports.
Local fire officials have said that sprinklers would have made a difference in the Arrive fire and potentially saved Diaz’s life.
Diaz said he was able to buy a fire extinguisher and a smoke alarm with 10-year warranties for about $100.
“My daughter died for 83 cents a month,” Diaz said, citing how much it cost to make those purchases. “How can this happen in a rich country?”
The legislation would also require complexes that sell their own insurance to explain the policies in greater detail. Stewart said many of her constituents who were displaced from the building thought that renter’s insurance purchased through the property management company would insure their belongings, but it actually insured the company.
“The day was filled with chaos, confusion, right from the start,” testified Halima Ahmed, who lived on the same floor as Melanie Diaz and was displaced in the fire.
Ahmed said it took sixteen minutes for the fire alarm to go off after smoke had already filled her apartment, and that it only went off because her neighbor pulled it.
“I was in complete darkness … so much so that even if somebody was standing in front of me, I could have not seen them. I attempted to leave my apartment more than once, but it was unsuccessful. I was finally rescued from my apartment by firefighters,” Ahmed said. “I did not know the value of sprinklers … I assumed that what [the bill would] mandate was already mandated by county laws.”
Renters in other apartment complexes also voiced support for the bill Tuesday. Nolu Crockett-Ntonga, a tenant representative at Sanctuary Senior Housing in Silver Spring, said she is concerned the building is not equipped to help elderly and disabled residents evacuate.
“The startling lack of emergency response plan and oversight became particularly evident [after two fire alarms went off], one of which happened in the middle of the night,” Crockett-Ntonga said. “Many residents, especially those with mobility impairments, had no idea what to do.”
The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA) released a statement supporting the lease notice and emergency safety plan requirements in the legislation but asking the council to consider enforcement amendments.
“AOBA asks that the Department of Permitting Services (DPS), not the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA), be responsible for reviewing and approving the emergency safety plans,” the statement says. “The bill should also be amended to make it explicitly clear that the emergency safety plans may not require a landlord to relocate displaced tenants.”
A state bill sponsored by Silver Spring-based Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Dist. 20) that passed the Maryland General Assembly this session will require apartment complexes to take stronger fire safety measures, including installing fire alarms and emergency lights in common areas and requiring fire safety education and evacuation information to be provided to tenants.
The council will hold a Parks, Housing and Planning Committee work session on the legislation at a later date. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
Arrive Silver Spring did not respond to a request for comment from MoCo360 on Wednesday.