Officials ask for sprinklers at Barnum Apartments
Bridgeport panel looks at renovations to P.T. Barnum Apartments

By John Burgeson
CONNPOST STAFF WRITER
Updated: 11/30/2009 09:46:00 PM EST

BRIDGEPORT -- Mayor Bill Finch said Monday the city will ask the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for money to pay for installing fire sprinklers throughout the P.T. Barnum Apartments public housing complex, where a family of four perished in a blaze three weeks ago.

"The only real, final solution is to sprinkler all of those apartments," Finch said.

The mayor, speaking on behalf of a task force established to investigate ways to prevent similar tragedies in the future, said that since the fire, the Fire Department and Bridgeport Housing Authority have been organizing discussions with Barnum tenants about fire safety, too.

Tiana Black, 22; her 4-year-old twin daughters, Nyaisja and Tyaisja Williams, and her son, Ny'shon Williams, 5, died of smoke inhalation in the Nov. 13 blaze at their apartment in Building 12.

"I think fire safety in the front of our minds is critical," the mayor said. "We went door-to-door. We went to Longfellow School and had an assembly with 250 children, all of whom were in rapt attention."

Also attending the noontime press conference were BHA Executive Director Nicholas A. Calace, Fire Chief Brian Rooney and state Rep. Charles Clemons, D-Bridgeport, a former firefighter.

Finch said that education is a short-term step. The city will approach HUD with its money request after cost estimates are prepared, he said, which he described as a long-term solution.

"We have to let them know what we're asking for," Calace said.

The officials met earlier with Donna Fewell, president of the P.T. Barnum Residents Association, who earlier in the day expressed concern over the fact that there were no Barnum residents on the task force.

Finch said that was the result of a "miscommunication," and added that he would like to see residents of the housing complex serve on the panel.

"We are open to everyone's ideas," the mayor said.

Fewell could not be reached for comment after the meeting. But earlier Monday, she said in a written statement to the press: "Their public relations stunt did not make residents any safer, nor was the nine-page document they handed out helpful. Their efforts did, however, have the effect of generating self-serving publicity, and giving the appearance of caring and concern."

She referred to the sweep through the housing complex last week by fire and city officials with the stated goal of reinforcing fire safety information for residents.

Fewell said that she assembled a "shadow task force" that also would look into the blaze, and any needed improvements at the Barnum complex.

"There's one goal here -- to get as much fire safety information out there as much as possible," the mayor said. "We'll be going door-to-door. We'll stay at this for as long as it takes."

As for the blaze itself, Rooney said that the exact cause still has not been determined by investigators. The final report, he said, will be made public in the coming weeks.

It's believed that the blaze began in the kitchen, officials said earlier. Beyond that, no information has been released on the cause.

One fire-safety step that officials hope to take immediately is to have temperature sensors installed in nearly every apartment. These sensors are used to monitor the heating system, but the mayor said that they could also alert the Fire Department when a unit has an unusually high internal temperature, indicating a possible emergency. These sensors could also be wired to relay data directly to the Fire Department.

"We're focused like a laser beam on getting that done as soon as possible," Finch said.

Another safety measure being discussed is to redesign the structures' porch roofs to make it easier for someone on the third floor to escape to safety. Officials are looking into reducing the roofs' 20-degree pitch and installing railings around them so that residents in a burning unit could exit onto the overhang through a window and wait for rescue.

"We are replacing the staircases right now, and we definitely are going to consider that option," Calace said. "We're putting that (cost estimate) together."

He added that "all" of the BHA buildings will be examined for possible safety upgrades.

Clemons sad that he "will be sitting down with state officials to see if any changes to the state building code are needed."

The mayor said that one thing the code-writers need to reconsider is having the lone door in the kitchen area.

Finch also urged the public to contribute to the Black family. "I want to remind the public that this family is grieving, and they need help with their bills."

The Barnum Apartments complex was constructed in 1950. It has 18 three-story buildings with 20 units each. The upper units, like the one where Black and her children perished, occupy the second and third stories of the building.

Prior to a renovation completed in the early 1990s, there was an emergency fire door linking the top-floor apartments, providing a second exit. But those doors have since been walled off in an effort to improve security. As it stands now, the apartments have only one external door, although they meet all existing fire codes, officials said.

Firefighters reported that Black's smoke alarms may have been sounding for as long as 20 minutes before a 911 call was made.

The bodies of Black and her twin girls were found by the door; the body of her son was found in an upstairs bedroom.