March 17, 2006

Officials push fire safety

       After Indiana’s deadliest two-week stretch of house fires in at least a decade — an 11-day period that claimed 19 lives — the state’s top firefighter urged Hoosiers on Thursday to install smoke detectors and take other commonsense steps to avoid tragedy.  Indiana Fire Marshal Roger Johnson joined dozens of firefighters from the county and state in the Center Grove area to talk about fire prevention and safety.

         In Johnson County, four fires in the past five weeks have resulted in the death of a senior citizen in the Center Grove area, another being critically burned and three children being burned while playing with fire. Two Franklin boys still are hospitalized.  “Indiana hasn’t faced this type of crisis that we can remember,” Johnson said. “We need to reiterate our fire-prevention message and get it out.”  Johnson said there is no common denominator in the cause of the fires, but more than half the victims died in blazes where investigators could find no sign that the burned-out homes had working smoke detectors.  Families must have working smoke detectors in their homes and make sure they discuss escape options, Johnson said.  “Had they taken the time, maybe some calmness would have come to the chaos that erupts during these situations,” he said.  For smoke detectors to be completely effective, they must be installed on every floor of a building, including the basement, said Ron Lipps, deputy fire marshal of the Fishers Fire Department. They also should be tested at least once a month to ensure the batteries and circuitry still work.  Smoke detectors must be placed in locations to provide the best protection, Lipps said. He said homeowners often install the devices too close to their kitchens, prompting some people to disable them out of irritation because the devices sound when meals are burned.  “If you pull the battery, it’s not going to help you when you need it,” he said. “We try to help people locate them in a much better place.”

         The state doesn’t plan to institute any new educational programs because of the recent fires, but Johnson hopes to be able to better educate residents about the programs local fire departments already offer, including free smoke detectors and installation help.  See a related story HERE.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)  (Photos contributed by John Buckman and Chief Joel Thacker)
   

          

           
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