Valley house fires reinforce need for prevention attention

Two house fires in Mahoning County within hours of each other last Wednesday morning in which two men were found dead should bring into stark focus the anguish and pain wrought by smoke and flames.

They should also focus communitywide attention on the compelling necessity to adopt proactive strategies to prevent the tragedies that such blazes produce.

About 4 a.m. last Wednesday, Boardman Township firefighters responded to a fully engulfed blaze on Border Avenue near Southern Boulevard. Inside, they found the body of a 37-year-old male who as of Sunday remained unidentified by local and state fire officials investigating the inferno.

Later that morning about 11, Youngs-town firefighters responded to another intense fire on West LaClede Avenue near Glenwood Avenue. Inside the home, the body of 70-year-old Ernest Averhart was found. Those investigating that fire believe Averhart may have suffered a heart attack or other cardiovascular trauma before or during the fire.

The cause of each fire remains under investigation.

In the short term, we encourage all to rally around surviving family members and friends of the victims. In the long term, the fires call for all in the Mahoning Valley to take concrete and aggressive steps to lessen the chances of a recurrence of such tragedy. Toward that end, individuals and families must make home-fire prevention priority No. 1 today and every day.

At first glance, the two Mahoning County fires breaking out in quick succession may appear to be a freakish anomaly. In fact, they are not. Structure fires that claim lives in this country are far more common than many believe and, sadly, are breaking out more frequently.

FIRES, DEATHS INCREASING

According to a report released this fall from the National Fire Protection Agency, the number of structure fires in the U.S. has been increasing after years of steady declines. The agency reports that public fire departments responded to 1,298,000 fires in 2014, a 4.7 percent increase from 2013, and 3,275 people died in fires last year, an increase of 1.1 percent from the previous year.

Considering the scope of local and national fire-prevention awareness campaigns, those numbers are troubling. They also reinforce the usefulness of paying strong heed to recommendations from the state fire marshal. Among them:

Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from all heat sources.

Make sure a space heater has an automatic shut-off, so if it tips over, it shuts off.

Have your furnace inspected each year.

Considering that smoke always precedes a fire, a smoke alarm on every level of a home is one of the best defenses against a major fire, injuries and loss of life. The American Red Cross reports that an estimated 890 lives could be saved each year if all homes in America had working smoke alarms.

Once installed, smoke detectors must be checked at least every two months to ensure batteries are in place and that the unit is in sound working condition.

Considering that the winter months account for the lion’s share of fatalities from house fires caused by defective or improperly used heating equipment, why not give a family member or loved one a smoke detector for Christmas? That present could well provide life-saving security while reducing the scope of this country’s No. 1 disaster threat.