Maryland Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-20) introduced a bill in the General Assembly Wednesday that would force owners of high-rise apartments to have smoke detectors in each sleeping area and corridor and inform incoming residents if the building is not equipped with sprinklers.
The bill is named the Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act in memory of the 25-year-old woman who died Feb. 18, 2023 while fleeing from a fire in the Arrive Apartment on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.
The fire broke out on the seventh floor of the 15-story building, causing multiple injuries to residents and displaced 400 residents.
A similar bill did not pass in the 2023 legislative session.
The proposed bill would mandate that fire safety instruction for tenants be conducted every six months and when tenants change. It also would mandate lighting in egresses and the providing of free visual alarms for those hard of hearing.
The bill also requires signs near entrances stating that the building does not have sprinklers and that information also must be placed in lease agreements for new tenants.
Under the proposal, state agencies would be charged with seeking funding to help pay for sprinkler installation and allow counties to create a property tax credit to support sprinkler installation.
The County Council also is working on ways to avoid injuries and deaths at high-rise apartments. Members are considering legislation that would require management to better share emergency plans. It also would require all signed leases state whether the apartment insurance is for only landlords or also for tenants.
According to Councilmember Kate Stewart, some tenants who lost everything in the Arrive fire thought they were insured but were not.
Stewart expects to introduce a bill in mid-Febuary.
The Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act has been introduced in the House. This bill is named for the woman we tragically lost in the Arrive fire last year. It provides significant improvements to fire safety in residential rental high rise buildings. #MDGA24 #Working4MD pic.twitter.com/e66rr4W4vn
— Lorig Charkoudian (@LCharkoudian) January 24, 2024
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