Firefighter Dies in Collapse of Building with Illegal Apartments for Migrants

A Durham, North Carolina, firefighter lost his life last week in a building fire filled with illegal apartments rented to migrants.

The firefighter, Andrew Brokes, 24, died on October 8 when the building of illegal apartments collapsed on him as he was searching for victims inside.

The building was listed as a commercial property, not residential, according to WTVD-TV.

Reports say that the apartments did not have windows or proper electrical hookups and ventilation, and many lacked proper safety exits.

One woman whose father lived in the illegal apartments said she worried about the living conditions in the building.

“I went there several times, and I’ve told my dad that these are not conditions that families and children should be living in,” Melissa Reyes told the media.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the first to determine how and where it started.

The fallen firefighter’s obituary noted that he “proudly continued his family’s tradition of firefighting, joining the fire service at just 18 years old,” the News & Observer reported.

“Firefighting was far more than a job to Andrew,” the obituary added. “It was his calling and his passion. He loved serving his community and helping others, often picking up extra shifts at other departments simply because he wanted to spend more time doing the work he loved. His commitment to the fire service reflected the very heart of who he was — a young man who found purpose in being there for others, especially when they needed him most.”

Brokes earned his Emergency Medical Technician certification and joined the Durham Fire Department in May 2025, where he was assigned to Fire Station 13 on Tower Company 5.

The incident brings new focus to the rising costs of housing thanks to Joe Biden’s tidal wave of illegal migrants who have flooded the housing market, driving up costs for everyone and opening the door for unscrupulous landlords looking to make money off illegal aliens.

A report from July by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed how the flood of illegal migrants “between 2021 and 2024 affected local labor and housing markets,” Fox Business Network reported.

Researchers estimated that “unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30 percent of employment growth, roughly 30 percent of home-price growth, and about 20 percent of rent growth”:

A 1 percent increase in unauthorized workers relative to a local labor force corresponded with roughly a 1 percent increase in overall employment, with no evidence the immigration surge reduced average wages. The same 1 percent increase, however, was associated with a roughly 2.2 percent rise in home prices and a 1.4 percent increase in rents. Researchers found little evidence that homebuilding expanded enough to meet the added demand, concluding the influx acted as a housing demand shock in markets where supply was already constrained. The economists estimate unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30 percent of employment growth, roughly 30 percent of home-price growth, and about 20 percent of rent growth in the average metropolitan area between March 2021 and March 2024.

This month it was reported that Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies have helped to stabilize rents and home prices for Americans, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Breitbart News.

“When you allow that many people to come in, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the housing prices,” Mullin said. “So when we go into areas, and we do immigration enforcement, when we leave, we see the average … rent drop by about six percent … you’ve got to have national security and affordability at the same time.”

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