Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501230083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Firefighters commonly breathe easier in warm weather, knowing that mild temperatures keep people from cranking up the heat and turning to portable kerosene and electrical units. Roanoke firefighters responded to 25 structure fires last month, compared with 36 the previous December, District Chief Thomas Tyree said.
"Any time the weather is like it's been, it's a blessing for the fire department," Salem Assistant Fire Chief Pat Counts said.
Fourteen house fires in the first few weeks of January brought the city's total since Dec. 1 to 39 fires, which caused more than $572,000 worth of damage, Tyree said.
Forty fires have been logged in Pulaski County since Dec. 1, Fire Chief Jeff Hall reported. And even communities with fewer fires, such as Salem and Franklin County, which each reported a half-dozen house fires this month, have witnessed tragedy and destruction.
Since the week before Christmas, three house fires in Franklin County, Clifton Forge and Roanoke have left eight people dead.
An electrical fire Dec. 21 ravaged Cynthia Barton's Franklin County home, killing her and three of her children. On Jan. 5, a nurse's aide and her 9-year-old daughter were found dead on the first floor after a fire swept through their two-story, wood-frame house in Clifton Forge. Eight days later, two Roanoke residents, Barbara Marie Hardy and Michael Todd Thomas, died when a fire started in a 13th Street apartment in Southwest Roanoke.
The recent fatal fires started in older buildings, where all it takes often is a spark. There is no one cause for house fires. Carelessly dropped cigarettes, kerosene and other space heaters, arson and overloaded extension cords surface again and again on fire investigators' reports. But so, too, do older homes in need of better maintenance.
"We don't have as many fires in newer homes as in older homes, that's a fact," said Bennie Russell, Franklin County's fire marshal. "Something as simple as a nail holding a picture in the wall in an old home could start a fire" if it splits an electrical wire.
Most of Roanoke's fire calls come from older neighborhoods, like Northwest and Gainsboro, Southeast and parts of Old Southwest, Tyree said.
"You have older homes there with old electrical wiring, old heating systems, old chimneys," he said. "People don't really maintain them. Either people rent the homes and the landlords don't maintain them, or if people own them, they can't afford to maintain them."
The Roanoke Fire Department targeted the older neighborhoods in its most recent fire prevention drive in October, conducting home inspections and giving away smoke detectors, Tyree said.
A smoke detector is a resident's best protection against being trapped in a fire, but many homes are still without them. Of the 39 homes that have caught fire in Roanoke since Dec. 1, 27 were not equipped with smoke detectors, Tyree said.
"The two people who died on 13th Street probably wouldn't have died if they had a smoke detector. That fire was burning for some time," Tyree said. "They do save lives."
Every home should have at least one smoke detector on each floor, including the basement. But fire officials were quick to point out that working batteries are a must. Many of the current models will squawk when the batteries get low, but not all do.
Counts suggests that residents follow a change-your-clock/change-your-battery routine. When it's time to turn clocks back or move them up an hour, pop in a new battery, he said. Another way to remember to change the battery is to put a new one in every year on your birthday, Counts said.
"If you are sure to get a good, fresh battery, then it should last a year because a smoke detector doesn't take much charge," he said.
Firefighters also warn against two age-old fire causes - smoking in bed and food left cooking unattended.
Residents also should pay attention to signs that electrical wires are in need of maintenance. Flickering or dimming lights, appliances that are not performing well or a series of blown fuses are good indicators that an electrician should be called, Russell said.
Overloading extension cords and wall sockets can be deadly. Extension cords never should be used as a permanent way of wiring, and they should not be placed under or near a rug.
And special attention should be given to portable heating units. Shut off and allow heating units to cool before refilling, and never fill them indoors. All space heaters should be kept at least three feet from flammable materials such as curtains and furniture. All highly flammable materials should be stored outside. Be sure also that kerosene heaters have adequate ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide dangers.
If water pipes freeze, do not use torches or other heating devices to thaw them. A hairdryer will work, said Donald Gillispie, Roanoke County's fire marshal.
"It takes a little longer, but it's safer," he said.
by CNB