rooming house burns at 23rd and R Streets

On one of the first cold nights of this season, a fire burned a rooming house at 1118 N 23rd Street. The fire appears to have started in the basement and everyone seems to have gotten out ok.
[ photos inside ]

One of the questions that we have is why this house is zoned as ’512 Single Family 2 Story’ but can function openly as known rooming house. Everyone is lucky that this time wasn’t the disaster that it could’ve been if an unknown number of unknown people were trapped in a burning house.

Another concern is that this burned shell will be the third empty house on that particular block. In an area with existing crime issues, another vacant house is not a positive development.