Last month, two multi-family residential buildings 100 miles away from each other caught fire just days apart, resulting in the deaths of nearly 30 people.
On Jan. 5, a three-story brick duplex in Philadelphia caught fire killing 12 people, eight of which were children. Officials are investigating the cause, believed to be a 5-year-old playing with a lighter set a Christmas tree on fire. Then, on Jan. 9, a malfunctioning space heater sparked a fire that filled a 19-story apartment building with smoke killing 17 people, including eight children, in the Bronx, New York. Investigators say the fire didn’t spread far, only charring the initial unit and adjacent hallway; however, the door to the apartment and a door to the stairwell had been left open, letting smoke spread quickly throughout the building.