"The blaze destroyed nearly everything they owned and displaced them from their home with just a few belongings in a matter of several hours, Evans told Hyperallergic in a phone call from a hotel where she is currently living. "There's a lot of things that went wrong," Evans said. "It was not like the movies where it's very clear it's an emergency," she added, recalling how the building's smoke alarms had not even gone off when she and her neighbors cleared their homes."
"The blaze broke out shortly before 1pm, after a building contractor had been called to repair a roof leak that was causing mold. Evans had been working from home and emailing with a curator about an upcoming project when she and her partner saw smoke coming from the roof. The contractor initially requested a few buckets of water, but then asked them to call the fire department."
A fire tore through Ayana Evans's top-floor Brooklyn apartment on September 8, destroying nearly all belongings and displacing Evans and her partner with only a few items. The blaze began shortly before 1pm during roof repairs to address a mold-causing leak and spread through the building's cockloft, a combustible void between the ceiling and the roof. Firefighters had the fire under control by 2pm, and authorities have not yet determined the cause. A contractor was reportedly arrested for illegal use of a blowtorch. An online fundraiser has raised more than $23,500 from over 300 supporters to help with relocation and recovery. Evans is a performance artist and adjunct professor.
Read at Hyperallergic
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