50 people displaced in devastating blaze.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A Boston-area residential building owned by an Indian American went up in flames on Wednesday night, killing four adults and three children, all of whom were part of the area’s large Cambodian immigrant population.
Investigations are currently ongoing as to what caused the fire at the building, which is located in Lowell. In addition to the seven who lost their lives, 50 have been displaced as a result of the devastating blaze, and have been forced to find alternate living arrangements for the time being. The building’s owner is Sanjay Patel, of the DK Ram LLC company, who has a clean record with city inspectors and who is cooperating fully with the investigation, reports the Boston Herald.
“Words cannot begin to express the sadness I feel for everyone affected by the devastating fire this morning,” Patel said, in a statement released on Thursday. “My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who died and those who were injured. I have met with the authorities today and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation into this tragedy.”
According to reports, the building had just recently cleared a full inspection by city authorities, who are now looking into the fact that the residential compound did not have any automatic sprinklers installed anywhere on the premises. The building was able to get around this, says the Herald, because it was built in 1980 originally, and did not have any significant new construction added onto it that would have prompted the installation of such sprinklers.
The building wasn’t completely residential, either. Although there were eight residential units within the building, the ground floor had a liquor store in it that Patel allowed to be run there. There have been no reports that any of those items contributed to, or caused, the fatal fire, nor is the liquor store said to be against regulations.
Meanwhile, the local community – particularly the Cambodian Americans – are grieving the loss of the seven individuals who lost their lives in the horrific fire. The three children included two sons who were ages seven and 12, and a nine year-old girl. Two children were orphaned because of parents who died in the fire.