When six people died last month in a Center City building collapse, it took only a few days for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to announce sweeping reforms to prevent another tragedy.
Such responses are common. A 2012 warehouse fire, which killed firefighters Lt. Robert Neary and Daniel Sweeney, also had City Hall vowing “never again.“
Long before the blaze, neighbors in the city’s Kensington neighborhood had complained that the building was dangerous, unsealed and tax delinquent. Afterward, even the most cynical residents believed that the death of two firefighters would compel the city government to crack down on Philadelphia’s many neglectful, absentee property owners — finally.
But has anything really changed since that catastrophic fire?
(via Philly’s response to fatal warehouse fire faulted by some — NewsWorks)