Christopher Coen
Melissa Sogard
nancylee1
I’ve noticed a lot of news stories this winter about refugees displaced from their apartment buildings or rented homes due to fires, most recently in Worcester, MA, as detailed in an article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The article doesn’t indicate how the fire started, other than that it started near a refugee family’s apartment, but it seems that sometimes these fires begin in aging wiring systems, in old or poorly maintained water heaters and other systems, sometimes other residents start fires, and sometimes refugees start fires while cooking or using space heaters.
For 18 Iraqi refugees who recently arrived in Worcester, fleeing a home, sadly, is a familiar experience.
Last month, a fire in a three-decker at 20 Charlton St. forced all 18 refugees to once again leave their homes and search for a new place to live. But compared to kidnappings, murders and bombings they have experienced in their homeland, an apartment fire is a small setback… Read more here
These stories are a continuing reminder to resettlement agencies about the importance of doing home safety orientation for refugees, and I don’t think a quick 5-10 minute orientation for refugees upon arrival, when they are weary and bleary-eyed from long overseas flights, is enough. We all learn through repetition. Plus, many refugee clients are not familiar with our technologies and mechanisms and need reminders. This is what a Nashville, TN district fire chief had to say to the Tennessean about a recent fire:
…This winter has seen its share of fires caused by space heaters and electrical problems, said District Fire Chief Manuel Fonseca. He said apartment complex fires had hit immigrants.Fonseca, who is in charge of community risk reduction, goes to apartment complexes to talk about safety. He said many of the newcomers, refugees, are not accustomed to some of the everyday electrical appliances that may cause a fire.“Some of these refugees have never been exposed to blow dryers, stoves, things we take for granted,” Fonseca said. “Some don’t know how to operate these things. We teach them to understand what they need to do.”… Read more here
Finally, there is the issue of housing that refugees can afford — which can mean older buildings, not the best construction, and slumlords. There is often a good reason that an apartment complex has a lot of vacancies – seemingly perfect for a new batch of refugee arrivals. They don’t keep up their buildings and nobody wants to live there. Resettlement agencies really need to do some screenings of these landlords and property management companies. The same type of screening and research that they would do for any housing they were considering living in.
