These people should be rounded up and deported.
If they were stopped from coming in we could avoid all that. And save lives.
We could use some respect for some of our old adages...."A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", comes to mind.
I don't know their immigration status. They owned the home.
What I've heard is that they were all related, the house is a one family dwelling, but that a building permit had been filed with the city to convert the residence into a legal three family.
At least one of the male residents was out working at the time, driving a cab. Another, was out of the country visiting other family in their native country. There was a home business registered at that address.
It was owner occupied, not the case of an absentee landlord. If and when the city approves the conversion to a three family dwelling (I imagine a basement apt and one on each floor) it would require the installation of sprinklers in the halls and a fire escape.
One of the female residents called her husband (the cab driver) first, instead of 911. She also reportedly left a room door open as she tried to evacuate, which may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. She along with 3 of her children (including infant twins) perished.
My home burglar alarm once went off in the middle of the night when a strong windstorm blew open an unlocked front door. I was the only one who jumped up to check downstairs, cell phone in my hand. Kids (3 teenagers) never heard it, hubby eventually stumbled down, half groggy.
All of a sudden it was clear to me how people perish in house fires. And I didn't awaken to as smoke filled room unable to see anything.
Very sad situation.