On a spring morning in March 2021, Robert Russell thought he’d be a hero.

As smoke seeped through the thin drywall separating his apartment from a fire in the next suite, he ran into the hallway and kicked down his neighbour’s door. The room had been cleared out, save for a mattress leaning against the radiator on the wall. With a rush of fresh air from the hallway, the flames soared, lapped at the ceiling, and chewed through the insulation as they raced across the attic. With no one inside to rescue, Russell hurried out of the building to join the throngs of displaced residents in the lot.