County Executive Marc Elrich signed a council bill into law Thursday that was inspired after a woman died last year in a downtown Silver Spring apartment fire.
“When I lost my daughter, I promised to my daughter and the community to fight for her,” said Cesar Diaz, whose 25-year-old daughter Melanie Diaz died in a Feb. 2023 fire at the Arrive high-rise apartments on Georgia Avenue.
Many residents were displaced in the fire. Council Vice President Kate Stewart is lead sponsor of the council bill, approved in July, to protect apartment renters’ fire safety and improve communication between landlords/building owners and tenants.
A report following the fire found that factors like a lack of sprinkler system affected severity of the blaze. The apartment complex had sprinklers only in the stairwells and mechanical rooms, according to officials. There were none in individual apartment units. And, there was reportedly no working smoke alarm in the fire apartment.
Per a release, the legislation requires that leases for rental buildings must: clearly state if the building has automatic sprinklers, inform tenants about emergency plans, and include specific information about what is covered by the insurance.
The bill also requires a building representative be available 24-hours, and requires tenants be notified of disruptions to essential services. Multifamily apartment buildings must have emergency safety plans approved by the county’s Permitting Services.
