Lynn steps up to help fire victims

LYNN – Cambodian-American residents reached out to Lowell families who lost loved ones and homes in Thursday?s fire and they plan to invite fire victims? families to Lynn next Friday to receive financial donations gathered during the upcoming week.?We will invite the fire victims? families to come and receive the money,” said Lynn City Councilor at large Hong Net.He said money raised during the week will be donated to the Lowell residents during an event tentatively scheduled at the Cambodian Buddhist Temple on Chestnut Street at 4 p.m.Net said members of Lynn?s 4,000-strong Khmer – Cambodian-American – community will attend a Lowell memorial service for fire victims on Sunday and meet Monday to plan an effort to aid residents who lost homes and possessions.?They need clothes, furniture and finances,” said Net.Net and Kirirath “AJ” Saing said close friendships and family relationships bind Lowell?s 50,000-strong Cambodian-American community to the 4,000 Cambodian-Americans living in Lynn.?People go to Lowell all the time for celebrations and weddings,” Net said.Initial published reports on the fire that swept Thursday morning through an apartment house listed a Cambodian-American family of five among those killed. Saing, who serves as Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy?s liaison to the Khmer community in Lynn, and Net said they were contacted after the fire by Lowell elected officials and community leaders in that city.?When situations like this happens, my phone rings,” Saing said.Saing said the Buddhist faith places importance on remembering someone?s death soon after the loss occurred. Efforts in Lowell to help victims? families and nearly 30 people left homeless have begun and Saing and Net expect Lynn residents to add to those efforts.?We want to find out how to best serve them. I don?t know them, but they are members of the Khmer community,” Saing said.Fire Chief James McDonald said Lynn has 30 to 40 apartment buildings approximately the size of the Lowell building where the fire occurred. He launched a fire safety education campaign more than a year ago that included firefighters installing smoke detectors in more than 5,000 Lynn apartments and other residences. Local officials, including Net, participated in multiple language public information advertisements aimed at underscoring basic fire safety measures.McDonald said the size of buildings like the one in Lowell and the number of residents in them make them a concern for firefighters. Net said the Lowell fire may prompt him to focus council scrutiny on safety in large apartment buildings.?There?s always more that can be done,” he said.