Leaders celebrate completion of public housing sprinkler installations
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In November of 2019, Abdi Warsame was the Minneapolis City Council Member representing the neighborhood where a fire in a high-rise public housing building resulted in six deaths.
“I remember you could feel the heaviness,” said Warsame. “You could feel the grief in the air as emergency vehicles’ lights illuminated our neighborhood. It was a heavy day, and my heart remains with those who also lost friends, family and neighbors. It’s what makes today such a bittersweet moment for me.”
Now, Warsame is the executive director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA). He and other local leaders gathered Monday outside of the Dickman Park Apartments which is the last of 42 public housing complexes to receive fire suppression systems.
The Nov. 27, 2019, fire broke out on the 14th floor of Cedar High Apartments, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. That building was constructed in the 1970s, before codes required fire sprinklers. It had sprinklers on the ground floor, but not on the residential floors.
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Five people died in that fire. One person died later of smoke inhalation. Minnesota’s Fire Marshal said a sprinkler system could have prevented those deaths.
At the time, only 16 of the city’s 42 high rises had fire suppression systems. Now, all 42 do.
“I had never imagined that a high rise would not have sprinklers,” said Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who knew people who lived in the building. “To me, it felt like there was a great injustice done by decision makers who had previously could have had the opportunity to intervene.”
Omar and members of the Minnesota congressional delegation, along with the city of Minneapolis and the MPHA helped secure part of the $20 million to complete the sprinkler system installations.
Public housing residents like Mary McGovern are relieved to see this get done.
“We don’t want this ever happening again,” said McGovern who is also president of the Minneapolis High Rise Representative Council. “It’s fantastic, it makes everybody feel so much better. It’s a work in progress, and it’s finally done.”