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Season 3, Episode 18

Many Jan. 9 New York apartment fire deaths were preventable

Picture of awfblog awfblog January 26, 2022

America's Work Force Union Podcast Health, Welfare, and Safety Labor-Management LMCT

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Guest Name:

Pete Ielmini

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www.insulators.org/lmct

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Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust (LMCT) Executive Director Pete Ielmini joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss why deaths from a recent New York City high rise apartment fire were preventable if critical fire containment regulations had been properly followed.

On Jan. 9, fire broke out on the third floor of a 19-story apartment building in the Bronx. Tragically, 17 people, including eight children, lost their lives. According to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, all 17 victims died of smoke inhalation.

Ielmini questioned how smoke from the third floor could travel through the building, causing those deaths. If the building had been up to code, many of those people would still be alive, he said.

The reason why smoke spread throughout the structure was because the fire doors did not work, said Ielmini. They should have closed when the fire alarms were set off. Instead, the fire doors remained open and smoke inundated the building.

Ielmini then discussed the importance of proper firestopping measures. The laws are already on the books requiring these safety standards. What is lacking is proper enforcement, he added.

He also explained the importance of having qualified people install these safety measures.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about the importance of fire containment.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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