Firefighters battle a blaze at a building in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
The City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, is cracking down on rooming houses by ensuring they have adequate sprinkler systems, after a major fire in March left two people dead.
Following the deadly fire at an Acushnet Avenue rooming house, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell had the city's fire department begin an enforcement program, targeting the 19 remaining un-sprinklered rooming house operators, according to a news release from the city.
The program has resulted in six operators putting in sprinkler systems, five operators scaling down to avoid rooming house regulations, six operators working to install the systems and two other operators facing court action, the city said.
Fire inspectors also looked at 14 other rooming houses that already had sprinklers to ensure they were working correctly.
“Rooming houses pose a unique set of fire safety challenges, and we must take extra steps to keep their occupants safe,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said in a news release. “I am grateful for the work our code enforcement team and the fire department did to make that happen.”
Two people were killed and five others hospitalized when fire broke out at the building on Acushnet Avenue. The State Fire Marshal's Office said investigators determined the fire started in a room on the second floor. They believe the fire was caused either by a microwave that was in use before the fire started, or the wall outlet it was plugged into at the time.
