CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office were working Friday to determine the cause of the latest deadly fire in West Virginia.
The victim was a Fayette County woman, age 53, who was killed in a home in Boomer with functioning smoke detectors, according to information from investigators.
On Wednesday, a woman who was 75 died in a house fire in Marion County. Last Saturday, there was a fire fatality in Wayne County.
In all, there have been five civilian fire deaths in West Virginia since Jan. 1.
“We’ve seen a lot of seniors lose their lives, 65+ all the way up to the age of 90,” Courtney Rosemond, public information specialist with the state Fire Marshal’s Office, told MetroNews of a trend that’s emerging from the fires.
In 2016, 58 people died from fire-related injuries in West Virginia which was a higher number than the previous two years. Nearly half of those victims were over the age of 65.
“A lot of times they live alone or they have disabilities or they don’t have working smoke alarms,” Rosemond said.
She was also warning people about the risks of mixing medical oxygen and smoking.
“Smoking with oxygen is extremely dangerous. That oxygen will saturate fabric, furniture, clothing, your hair, your bedding and it makes it much easier for a fire to start then eventually spread.”
Here are fire safety guidelines the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office provided for homes where medical oxygen is used:
· There is no safe way to smoke in the home when oxygen is in use. A patient on oxygen should not smoke.
· Candles, matches, wood stoves, and even sparking toys can be ignition sources and should not be used in the home.
· Oxygen cylinders must be kept at least five feet from a heat source, open flame or electrical device.
· Body oil, hand lotion and items containing oil and grease can easily ignite and must be kept away from where oxygen is in use.
· Never use aerosol sprays containing combustible materials near the oxygen.
This time of year usually brings a spike in house fires linked to alternative heat sources.
Half of all home heating equipment fires are reported during the months of December, January and February, according to the National Fire Prevention Association.
“A lot of these fires are preventable,” Rosemond said.
Though space heaters have come a long way, “They can still be dangerous, especially if you’re putting blankets over them or if you’re improperly using them,” she said.
The NFPA has offered the following overall fire safety tips:
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or other space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room, and burn only dry, seasoned wood. Allow ashes to cool before disposing of in a metal container that is kept a safe distance from the home.
• Make sure all fuel-burning equipment is vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Install and maintain carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
The American Red Cross is currently coordinating free smoke detector installations in homes.
Requests for installations can be submitted through the American Red Cross website or by calling your local ARC chapter.