The four children taken into state custody after they were found a South Boston apartment with a dead man are unwilling members of an unenviable club: youngsters whose suffering was kept behind closed doors until discovery by first responders.

A fire department report, obtained by the Herald, states that a Boston Fire Department crew was sent to Old Colony Avenue Saturday morning for a call that a man had gone into cardiac arrest and required medical attention. That address is the city-run Mary Ellen McCormack Housing complex.

Firefighters found more than just a medical emergency: four children, 5 to 10 years old,  in “extremely unsanitary conditions”  in a back bedroom where an adult male was in the process of hiding them. The children were also in the presence of alcohol, drugs, and sex toys, according a city official.

What if there hadn’t been a medical emergency requiring outside help? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

This harkens to the infamous Turpin family case which came to light in 2018 after young Jordan Turpin escaped her house and called 911, pleading for help. She and her 12 siblings had been held captive by their parents for years, beaten, starved and often chained to furniture.

David and Louise Turpin, who were sentenced to life in prison in 2019, were successful at keeping their children isolated from the outside world for years. But the children in South Boston lived in a housing complex run by the city.

There’s a police division of the Boston Housing Authority, and according to its website, the unit is responsible for “deterring and detecting criminal activity providing patrols (including vertical patrols through BHA buildings and hallways).” It also operates the video surveillance system which consists of some 300 cameras.

In addition, the BHA is required to perform at least one inspection of individual apartment every year. Residents are given advance notice.

There are, at least in theory, opportunities to observe and report unsafe conditions in which children may be living. Firefighters deserve the credit here in intervening, thus getting the children out of what could have been an even more tragic situation.

The Boston City Council plans to hold a hearing to do a deep dive into the incident.

Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy Murphy’s order directs an appropriate committee of the council to hear from officials in order to “assess the Department’s response procedures and protocols relating to public safety in BHA units, particularly the safety of children in BHA housing.” Murphy noted that after the Saturday discovery, the council needs to hear from the Housing Authority on both how they are conducting inspections of public housing units and how they account for dependent children there.

At first glance, the need for more inspections – unannounced so that renters have no chance to hide things they shouldn’t have or poor conditions for the welfare of children – is evident.

This, however, is where the desire for safety may run afoul of legal and civil rights. Landlords have to inform tenants before an inspection, yet that may be a critical way to assess if children are living well.

This is for the council, BHA, the mayor’s office and other stakeholders to duke out. As long as the children come first.