Pittsburgh-area first responders share safety tips amid string of deadly fires
WHITE OAK, Pa. (KDKA) – It's been a tough week across the Pittsburgh area with regard to fires. Seven people have died over the past week due to such incidents.
A local fire department has shared some precautions to protect yourself and your family.
"This is a little bit higher than normal as far as the fire deaths go," Volunteer Rainbow Fire Chief Brandon Schmidt said.
Schmidt says there's usually a winter uptick, and Pennsylvania sees its fair share of deadly fires.
"Pennsylvania usually comes tops in the country," Schmidt said.
That remains true. As of this story's posting, U.S. Fire Administration data show that Pennsylvania and Texas have had the most civilian fire deaths this year.
Pennsylvania and Texas have 17 each, followed by California with 13, Alabama with 12, and Georgia and Louisiana with 11.
"We want to make sure that we get the resources to the people to make sure that they're staying safe," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said you should practice fire safety drills at home.
"You'd be surprised at how often that just through the repetition of those drills the kids will do the same thing when they're at home," he said.
As always, it's important to have working smoke detectors and change the batteries.
"We'll go to fires and you'll see, 'I have a smoke detector,' and the thing was brand new when they put it up," he said. "It was white, now it's yellow because it's 20 years old."
Seconds matter, especially with more modern homes and how they're built.
"Everything, from the couches and the clothes we wear, are made from synthetic materials," he said. "And those synthetics are basically solid gasoline."
Don't forget to close your doors when you go to bed. That can also buy time.
"If you look and see how much flame even your cheapest, hollow core door can hold back, it's surprising," Schmidt said. "It's leaving you with breathable oxygen in that space also."
Schmidt wants to ensure the lives lost this week are not in vain.
"We always want to first think, 'Is there something that could've been done to prevent this?'" he said. "And, 'Can we learn from this death to prevent future incidents?'"
