Maryland

Family fights to make high-rises safer one year after young woman dies in Silver Spring fire

Since her death, Melanie Diaz’s family has been fighting for change. 

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Loved ones honored the life of a young woman who died trying to evacuate her burning Silver Spring high-rise with her two dogs with a vigil on Sunday–along with a renewed push for lawmakers to make similar buildings safer. 

Melanie Diaz, 25, was killed one year ago when the Arrive apartment building caught fire. 

“How do I feel right now?” her father, Cesar Diaz, asked. “Painful. Painful, but it doesn’t matter because that pain is making me stronger. It’s made my family stronger.”

Since her death, Diaz’s family has been fighting for change. 

Arrive does not have a sprinkler system–something they believe could’ve saved her life–and it’s one of many high-rises in Montgomery County that doesn’t. It was built before automated sprinklers were a requirement, and though Maryland state code mandates these buildings be retrofitted with sprinklers, their deadline is not until 2033. 

In the meantime, the Diaz family believes there are steps that can be taken to make things safer.

“We don’t want anyone to feel the same pain we feel,” Cesar Diaz said.

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The Melanie Diaz Fire Safety Act was just introduced by Maryland Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-District 20), who represents Silver Spring.

The legislation would make it so that smoke alarms are required in each sleeping area of high-rises. Landlords would have to provide written notice to tenants letting them know the building doesn’t have the sprinkler system, and it would provide tax credits for building owners who make fire safety improvements.

“There are going to be lives that are going to be saved because of what [her family has] done in the face of the tragic loss of their daughter,” Charkoudian said.

Melanie Diaz was a graduate of Georgetown University and worked for the Aspen Institute. She loved animals and cared deeply about the wellbeing of others. While the pain of losing her will never go away, her loved ones say the light she provided the world cannot be dimmed.

“She was unafraid. She was unapologetic. She was fearless. That’s what made this a tragedy. But, at the end of the day, extracting from her life, keeping her memory alive I think is what’s the most important thing,” her boyfriend Michael Sobalvarro said.

The fight to honor Melanie Diaz’s legacy continues later this week as her family heads to Annapolis to testify before lawmakers in an effort to get the bill passed in her honor.

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