Montgomery County leaders sign bill into law protecting tenants after woman killed in Arrive Silver Spring fire

3 months ago 3

Here's what the new law does to protect tenants.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and other county leaders will sign a bill into law to protect apartment renters in life-threatening situations. The legislation follows a deadly fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartments last year. Melanie Diaz, 25, died in the high-rise fire.

Officials said Melanie died from smoke inhalation and that a lack of a functioning smoke alarm system and functioning sprinkler system contributed to the magnitude of the fire.

Diaz's father, Cesar Diaz was expected to be on hand for the bill signing. He has been fighting for stronger fire safety legislation since his daughter's death.

“I try not to look at the building, I try to look at my daughter’s memory and the tree," said Diaz, who planted a cherry blossom tree in memory of Melanie. It replaces a tree that was chopped down by rescuers the day of her death in February 2023.

“For me it’s like a symbol for people to remember what happened here and how beautiful my daughter’s life was losing, because people cut corners and because they cut corners, she’s not here today,” said Diaz who travels with his family to Maryland from their home in Florida.

On July 16, the County Council passed legislation that strengthens tenant protections and requires landlords to notify tenants of fire safety, insurance and building maintenance issues.

Bill 7-24 was authored by Council Vice President Kate Stewart. It requires the following:

Residential leases must clearly state whether the building has automatic sprinkler systems, inform tenants of emergency plans and details whether the lease insures tenant possessions in the event of loss or damage due to instances such as fire, smoke or water.
Twenty-four-hour availability of a building representative and notification to tenants of any disruption of essential services.
Emergency safety plans for each building, proposed by landlords of multifamily dwellings, to be approved by the County’s Department of Permitting Services.

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