Channel agony of fire deaths toward fire prevention, other safety measures in the home

Less than nine months ago in this space, we mourned the tragic and senseless loss of six lives in an early morning house fire on the northwest side of Warren.

Sadly, again today, we mourn the tragic and senseless loss of four more lives in an early morning house fire on northwest side of Warren.

And again today, we must reinforce our appeals from last June that fire safety and fire prevention must be priority No. 1 in all households.

It was 3:21 a.m. Saturday, when the screaming cries of “We’re dying” from a young girl alerted a 911 dispatcher and the Warren Fire Department of the inferno at 160 Austin Ave. NW that claimed the lives of two adults — Edtwan Kimble, 32, and Yolanda Holmes, 38 — and two children, Mari’auna Holmes, 12, and Marniece Holmes, 9.

Judging by the large memorial of stuffed animals in front of the home and comments from friends and family members, the adults were loving, caring, responsible individuals. The Willard School classmates of the children who perished in the fire remember the young victims as outgoing, fun, lively and true-blue friends.

These horrific human losses, in the words of Warren City Councilwoman Helen Rucker, made for “a sad day” for the city.

Similarities of deadly infernos

In the somber aftermath of the tragedy, it is sad on a personal level that four productive, valuable lives were so terribly snuffed out. On a community level, it is anguishing that the city repeated the horror of last summer when two adults and four children were killed in a house fire on Lansdowne Boulevard Northwest.

In addition to the time of day and the general location of the two fatal fires, other stark similarities emerge in their potentially common causes and common lack of smoke detectors. The state fire marshal concluded an unattended charcoal grill started last summer’s blaze. City officials for now point to the kitchen stove as a likely cause of last weekend’s fire.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking has ranked as the No. 1 cause of house fires in the United States since 1992. As such, all household members must never let their guard down and practice such responsible cooking skills as never leaving food unattended on a stove, keeping cooking areas free of flammable objects (such as, potholders and towels), avoiding wearing clothes with long, loose-fitting sleeves and always ensuring stoves, ovens, grills are completely off when not in use.

An even more troubling parallel between the two fires is the lack of working smoke detectors in either home. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one-third of all fatal structural fires in 2010 lacked working smoke detectors.

Considering that smoke always precedes a fire, a smoke alarm on every level of a home ranks as one of the best defenses against a major fire, injuries and loss of life. Once installed, smoke detectors must be checked by homeowners at least every two months to ensure batteries are in place and that the unit is in sound working condition.

The proof of their value as lifesavers is evident in the numbers. As smoke detectors have become increasingly common over the past 35 years, the number of fires and fire deaths has dropped dramatically. In 1977, 723,500 structural fires in the U.S. killed 5,865 people; in 2010, 369,500 structural fires killed 2,640, according to the NAPA.

Housing codes

Such evidence should encourage communities to toughen housing codes and increase inspections for potential fire threats. Given the realities of today’s strained local government budgets, however, it must fall on the shoulders of all homeowners and renters to ensure their living quarters are adequately equipped. Compassionate family members and friends should also consider gifting state-of-the-art smoke detectors.

A final parallel between the two fires is the professional response of the Warren Fire Department. One troubling aspect was the delay by several minutes caused by the lack of enhanced 911 that could immediately have identified the location of the wireless call.

Warren Police Chief Tim Bowers called Saturday’s wireless 911 call the “doomsday scenario” for a city such as Warren that doesn’t have enhanced capability. Whether the inferior 911 system and the minutes it cost could have made any life-or-death difference may never be known. But fortunately, Warren will have the improved 911 system in place later this year.

For now, many in Warren are painfully reliving last summer’s anguish over the deaths by fire of loved ones and neighbors in their community.

As they and others throughout the Mahoning Valley mourn, they also can vow to take simple ongoing fire safety precautions as a fitting way to memorialize the grievous losses of Edtwan, Yolanda, Mari’auna and Marniece and to thwart any recurrence of such an anguishing and heartbreaking tragedy.