Immigrant Dies in Dormitory Fire

Jan. 11: A 35-year-old from Somalia died in a night fire which broke out in an abandoned factory warehouse in Sesto Fiorentino (a Florence suburb).  The building is a home to 100 people, mainly legal immigrants — refugees from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia who requested asylum — in addition to a few Italian families.

The former factory belonged to the Aiazzone furniture company, which closed several years ago.

Police are investigating.  It is believed that the origin was a either a fire lit for warmth in the face of freezing temperatures or a short circuit.   To read more in Italian, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.