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 Mayor Michael Nutter accused some in the mainly Liberian immigrant
neighborhood of spreading misinformation when he was confronted by
claims from community members that firefighters were slow or inept
in responding to Saturday's blaze.
“I will not tolerate under any set of circumstances, incorrect
information, allegations, innuendo or lies suggesting that members
of the Philadelphia Fire Department did anything less than perform
admirably in their service," Nutter told reporters on Monday.
Patrick Sanyeah, a Liberian native whose 4-year-old son and newborn
infant were among the four children who perished, called the mayor's
remarks disrespectful.
“My child is ... burned to ashes,” Sanyeah said. “Don't get on
national TV and tell me I'm a clown.”
He was joined by about 20 relatives, all wearing T-shirts bearing
images of the four victims, camped outside City Hall in a protest,
flanked by dozens of police officers.
"We want (Nutter) to say, 'We know you are hurting, we are hurting
too, but we'll do our best to conduct an investigation,'” Sanyeah
said.
Killed along with Sanyeah's two children were 4-year-old twin
sisters from another family of West African origin. More than 40
people were left homeless by the blaze, which gutted more than half
of a city block in the city's southwest section.
Separately on Wednesday, several municipal officials, including
members of City Council, met at City Hall with Liberia's ambassador
to the United States, Jeremiah Sulunteh.
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Four people were arrested during a protest on Monday, after
demonstrators laid down in front of the local fire station entrance,
blocking fire trucks from exiting.
Defending the fire department, city officials have produced records
showing the first firefighters arrived on the scene of the blaze
within three minutes of receiving the initial call, shorlty before 3
a.m. local time.
Michael Resnick, the city's director of public safety, insisted on
Wednesday that Nutter, who was away in Washington, D.C., for the
day, does not owe anyone an apology.
“He said he stands with them, that the community's loss is our loss.
I don't know what more he can say,” Resnick said.
(Reporting by Daniel Kelley; Editing by Steve Gorman and Michael
Perry)
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