D.C. politicians need to step aside until rowhouse fire probe is done

OPINION:

Who knew?

Who knew that rowhouse at 708 Kennedy St. NW in the diverse Petworth neighborhood had been chopped into a rooming house?

Who knew the house had wrought-iron bars, unsuppressed fire threats and locked doors?

Who knew? D.C. police, D.C. Fire and DCRA.

The latter, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, serves as the eyes, ears and nose of the city’s housing code, and the agency’s careless handling of the above mentioned housing code violations could place the city government — that is, it’s taxpayers — at risk for millions of dollars in liability.

Why? Two people died in a fired at 708 Kennedy on Aug. 18 when they couldn’t get out the house, and a woman was hospitalized because of the blaze. Several other residents lived there, too.

How and if they all are related remains unclear.

How the blaze started has yet to be determined.

However, what’s crystal clear now that the smoke has cleared is the youngest victim — Yafet Solomon, 9 — was a shining star in a tenable situation had DCRA done its job.

One of Yafet’s best friends said he wanted to be a lawyer. Bless his hopeful heart.

Here’s a brief timeline of why Yafet’s dream was cut short:

In March, a D.C. police officer, responding to a dispute inside 708 Kennedy, recorded with his body-worn camera the illegal, unsafe and horrifying conditions inside what used to be a single-family home. He reported the situation to the D.C. Fire and EMS.

In May, DCRA assigned an inspector to survey the residence for housing code violations. After visiting 708 Kennedy three times, the inspector left a business card and mailed a letter to the landlord. The case was closed after there were no responses.

In August, police officers tried to enter 708 Kennedy during a fire, but iron bars blocked them from entering and the tenants from exiting.

Since then, Mayor Muriel Bowser, the D.C. Council and a parade of city officials have voiced their disgust and heartbreak about what happened at 708 Kennedy, mostly because of what should not have happened to Yafet, whose funeral was held Wednesday.

There’s much to unpack in this deadly case beyond who knew about 708 Kennedy and why nothing was done until tragedy struck.

See, another burning question is why nobody noticed the scores of pharmaceutical bottles amid the backyard debris after the fire. The drugs included antipsychotics and narcotics, including diazepam and hydrocodone.

Also troubling: DCRA records indicate that 708 Kennedy was a former pharmacy, and the man who owned the property apparently owns a home in a different part of Northwest and it, too, is a former pharmacy.

And if that weren’t enough, the 708 Kennedy’s deadly case visits another rusty D.C. government saw, questionable 911 emergency communications and the troublesome bureaucracy at DCRA, over which the council was to provide rigorous oversight.

Oh well.

708 Kennedy St. reveals why tragedy strikes when the agents of a government agency see no evil, hear no evil and pinch their noses.

Miss Bowser was sworn in for a second term in January. The 708 Kennedy case is her toughest yet. Good thing she invited federal prosecutors and D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine to poke their noses under the curtains.

She and the council would be smart to step aside so the lawmen and women can do their jobs.

Once their investigations are complete, there will be plenty time for political options.

⦁ Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.