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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 51 Two Sections
DECEMBER 21-27, 2022
Fires claim five Black lives in seven days Officials give fire safety tips for homes during winter months by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Tragically, seven people have died in four residential fires in Allegheny County in the past week and a half. Five were African Americans. On Sunday night, Dec. 11, a fire started in an apartment on the 12th floor of the Roosevelt Building, Downtown. An 80-year-old African American woman, Barbara Johnson, attempted to escape the fire by going down the stairwell, but was unable to make it out. Firefighters found her in the stairwell. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The following morning, Dec. 12, a fire caused residents to evacuate from the Brinton Towers apartment building in Braddock Hills. An African American man, 60-yearold Kevin Prince, was in the building at the time of the fire. He was rushed to a hospital where he died. And in the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 17,
a fire was reported at a home in the 3400 block of McClure Ave. in Brighton Heights. Thirteen people were inside the home at the time. Two adults and eight children were able to escape; however, firefighters found three people—a 19-year-old Black man, Dijon Hutchinson, and two African American children—inside the home. They were pronounced dead at the scene. A report released in July 2021 from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that between 2016-2018, African Americans had nearly double the rate of residential fire deaths as the national average. A population of 13 percent in the U.S., Blacks accounted for 24 percent of all residential fire deaths and 27 percent of all residential fire injuries. But the data isn’t just confined to that threeyear period. It was essentially the same disparity in a 2014 National Fire Protection Association report, which studied house fires from 2007-2011.
Local investigators are in the process of determining the causes of the fires, including the fire at a home in Sewickley early Tuesday morning, Dec. 13, that claimed the lives of two young children. The investigation will also reveal if there were working smoke detectors in the residences, and sprinkler systems in the high-rise buildings and specific apartments. Dr. Darryl Jones, who is the City of Pittsburgh’s fire chief, was heartbroken in an interview on KDKA Radio, Dec. 12, upon learning of the Sewickley fire, which, at the time, was the third fatal fire in as many days in the county. “That’s the one thing that troubles me all the time is the death of the children,” Dr. Jones said. “No matter how hard we really try to educate, and the technology changes and everything that we try to do, despite our best efforts, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to.” SEE FIRE A4
DR. DARRYL JONES is fire chief for the City of Pittsburgh.
Gwen’s Girls to manage new service aimed at diverting youth from justice system by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Not every problem requires a call to 911. For Dr. Kathi Elliott, the outspoken CEO of Gwen’s Girls, a minor issue here, a minor issue there can oftentimes be solved not through handcuffs or a jail cell, but through trained personnel and mediators who have young people’s best interests at heart. Enter “Caring Connections for YOUth,” a new Allegheny County-wide initiative that will serve as a pre-arrest diversion option for youth; girls and boys. Caring Connections for YOUth will give everyone, including school officials, police, other youth, family members, etc., a chance to call “211” instead of “911,” and then press “#3” to be connected with a live person who can take the name of the young person who may be in need of help. Professionals will then follow up and at-
tempt to meet with the youth in question, with family involvement. “The ultimate goal is to stop the usual calling of 911 for a lot of incidences that can be addressed in the community,” Dr. Elliott told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “This is community-led...a lot of youth are referred (to different services) from the back-end (penal system). Let’s try to do it as a prevention (before the penal system).” “211” is managed by the United Way of Pennsylvania. Dr. Elliott said the “#3” service, managed by Gwen’s Girls, is currently up and running. While the goal of Caring Connections for YOUth is to reduce the number of youth arrests and those referred for system involvement, another long-term goal is to also see a reduction in racial disparities which has persisted despite a multitude of system and community-based efforts.
A PROCLAMATION FOR GWEN’S GIRLS
SEE GWEN’S GIRLS A4
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GWEN’S GIRLS RECEIVED A PROCLAMATION FROM COUNTY EXECUTIVE RICH FITZGERALD AND MAYOR ED GAINEY’S OFFICE DURING THEIR 7TH ANNUAL EQUITY SUMMIT. TO SEE PHOTOS, SEE PAGES A6-7.