Cardi B Promises to Cover Funeral Costs for Bronx Fire Victims
Cardi B Wants To Pay Funeral Costs for NYC Fire Victims
(Bloomberg) -- Rapper Cardi B pledged to cover funeral costs for victims of the Bronx fire, New York City’s deadliest blaze in three decades.
The Bronx native said she would also pay repatriation expenses for some victims buried in Gambia through a fund set up by Mayor Eric Adams. The Bronx Fire Relief Fund has raised $2.5 million to help the families of the dozens of people injured and the 17 people who died in the fire.
“I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the families of the victims are experiencing, but I hope that not having to worry about the costs associated with burying their loved ones will help as they move forward and heal,” Cardi B said in a statement on Wednesday. “I’m extremely proud to be from the Bronx and I have lots of family and friends who live and work there still. So, when I heard about the fire and all of the victims, I knew I needed to do something to help.”
The fire at the low-income housing apartment highlighted the stubborn link between poverty and deaths from residential fires in the city, where fire deaths jumped 21% from the year before. Many of the deadliest fires have occurred in the city’s low-income neighborhoods.
The city is still investigating the Bronx apartment building where the deadly fire appeared to stem from a malfunctioning space heater. City officials said residents had fled the apartment unit without closing the door, and that the heavy smoke contributed to deaths and injuries. Before the fire, tenants had complained about lack of heat, a broken radiator and a door that didn’t close properly, city records show.
The probe will look into whether self-closing doors were properly functioning and study complaints by some residents that smoke alarms went off frequently, leading some to stay in their units because they didn’t know it was a real fire, Adams said earlier this month.
The apartment building at 333 E. 181st St. is owned by Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC, which has said it is cooperating with the investigation.
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