Three people died and 14 were injured early in the morning on May 4 when a fire tore through a Manhattan apartment building, trapping residents in a smoke-filled stairwell that served as the building\u2019s only means of escape.<\/p>\n
Fire fighters across North America have increasingly raised concerns<\/a> about single-exit residential designs as cities look for ways to build denser housing on smaller footprints. Many municipalities restrict single exit design to residential buildings up to four stories, but New York allows structures up to six stories to be built without a secondary stairwell.<\/p>\n The idea is to get more units into a smaller space, but that strategy is putting profits over safety. Monday\u2019s fire is a tragic example<\/a> of why we need those secondary means of egress. A second set of stairs means residents can evacuate safely, and fire fighters can initiate an aggressive interior response.\u201d<\/p>\n 1st district Vice President James Slevin<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to get more units into a smaller space, but that strategy is putting profits over safety,\u201d 1st District Vice President James Slevin said. \u201cMonday\u2019s fire is a tragic example<\/a> of why we need those secondary means of egress. A second set of stairs means residents can evacuate safely, and fire fighters can initiate an aggressive interior response.\u201d<\/p>\n