Deadly blazes reflect America’s failure to adequately house its poor

THE SMELL of smoke hung in the air for days after the fire on January 5th that killed 12 members of an extended family. Philadelphia’s mayor called it “one of the most tragic days in our city’s history”. The burnt row house belonged to the city’s public-housing authority. Four days later in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, 17 people were killed and dozens injured in a fire that whizzed through a 19-storey apartment building, home to scores of low-income families who rely on vouchers for federal rent subsidies. Though the circumstances differ—a Christmas tree was accidentally ignited in Philadelphia and a faulty space heater, along with open doors, may have been the culprits in the Bronx—each fire has sparked questions about the state of affordable housing.