Joe Chin

Accountability

Another blaze in Paris has taken a few more lives. And it's nothing that couldn't have been avoided. I remember growing up and always having to endure another fire-drill in primary school. Career day was neat, the fire truck would come by. Some bright student would be selected/volunteer to try and put on a firefighter's coat/hat/trousers, it weighed a ton. And then they would tell us about making plans to evacuate the building, checking our smoke alarms, and doing simple things to extinguish a small fire.

And why was all of this done, simply accountability. Not for you and me, but for the insurance companies. I'm sure there was some number cruncher in the great halls of All-State or Metropolitan who thought it would be cheaper to install a $25 smoke alarm rather than pay out insurance claims all the time. And those massive fires at the beginning of the 20th-century moved the government to put in legislation on fire prevention. Smokey the Bear and Clifford the Dog, your message hasn't gone to waste. I'm still reluctant to start a campfire and I can STOP, DROP, and ROLL with the best of them.

So with four fatal fires this summer in Paris what has the government done to prevent this tragedy? Evict poor immigrants from their homes thats what. Most of the apartments were slums and I'm sure if they could have left they would have done it a long time ago. No, they are being evicted and put on the streets.

So come on France, where is the basic prevention? The programs in school, signs in the hallways pointing to evacuation routes, and those god-awful fire alarms that detract from the decor of dilapidated buildings. It's the 21st-century and people shouldn't have to roast because fire alarms aren't a requirement.