EDITORIAL : SAFE SHELTER IN L.A. IT'S NOT A HUMANITARIAN GESTURE TO LET PEOPLE LIVE IN DANGEROUS HOUSING.NOBODY should live in a firetrap fire·trap n. A building that can catch fire easily or is difficult to escape from in the event of fire. firetrap Noun a building that would burn easily or one without fire escapes Noun . Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. leaders should let that be their guide as they set new policies regarding the city's many unlawful dwellings, such as the numerous garages that have been converted into apartments. A city task force has been working on the problem since March, after a woman and two of her grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. died in a blaze on fire; burning with a flame; filled with, giving, or reflecting light; excited or exasperated. See also: Blaze at a Sun Valley garage that was being used as a residence. Five lives were lost in a similar tragedy in December when flames roared through a Watts garage, which served as a home. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. city officials, Los Angeles may have between 50,000 and 100,000 unauthorized dwellings - many with inadequate wiring, sanitation sanitation: see plumbing; sanitary science. , ventilation, exits and other essentials. As City Hall decides how to respond to this situation, some voices are calling for a balanced response - stronger enforcement of building and safety rules, but with a generous measure of tolerance because the working poor can't afford the hefty rent for a normal apartment or house. To that, we say: Nobody should live in a firetrap. Calls for patience and tolerance should not be an excuse to delay installation of smoke alarms, clearing fire-escape paths and other alterations to provide at least minimal safety. And wherever those steps aren't sufficient to reduce risks to an acceptable level, then it's hard to swallow the argument that it's a humanitarian act to let people go on living where they are in danger of death. There's nothing compassionate about leaving people in harm's way harm's way n. A risky position; danger: a place for the children that is out of harm's way; ships that sail into harm's way. . It's not as if there aren't enough safe dwellings - albeit some makeshift ones - in all of Southern California's cities and counties to accommodate the at-risk residents of Los Angeles. Of course, putting them in safe housing would require public and private officials to respond quickly and in close coordination. But that would be a way of putting families and individuals in safe housing, and let local government avoid liability for granting waivers to firetraps, even temporarily. That truly would be a humanitarian response. It certainly would be better than leaving thousands of people in danger every day and night. |
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