Why Are More People Dying in Oregon Fires?

Oregon saw 48 people die in fires last year, the largest number in the last ten years.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Fire deaths in Oregon are up, and Salem-News.com asked Rich Hoover with the Oregon State Fire Marshall's Office to expand on the reasons he believes the numbers are shifting in the wrong direction, as indicated by the figures for 2007.

In all fairness, the number of fire deaths maneuver like a roller coaster statistically from year to year, and no single reason can really be cited.

But smoke alarms do seem to be the one area where a percentage of families consistently fail to follow well laid out guidelines, with often fatal results.

"Smoke alarms provide that crucial time that allows you to escape."

Hoover said the problems go beyond families not having a smoke alarm, "Fire alarms are a big issue because people don't have or aren't maintaining smoke alarms in their residences. People remove batteries, they don't check them often enough."

"It's not something that is high on everyone's awareness list," he said. "But it really should be. There really are many people who can tell you that a working smoke alarm saved their life."

I can tell you from the perspective of a local reporter, that people escape fires without injury frequently when they do have smoke alarms, even then there are often only seconds to spare.

That leads to the second most important thing families can do besides having an alarm, that is having a good family plan with familiar fire evacuation routes.

But even the best laid plans can fail, and families should be ever vigilant when it comes to fire safety. The list of possible contributing factors to a house fire is long and varied. He says the worst cases are the ones that leave no definable clues.

"I was surprised this year to be honest with you. In six of the fires in family residences, the cause of the fire was undetermined. When you can't figure out the cause it is harder to form a public education campaign."

Over the years

In 2007, Oregon lost 43 people in fires. Significant among these was a camping trailer fire that claimed the lives of three girls in southern Oregon, aged 9, 12 and 13.

2006 saw 35 people perish in Oregon fires. Hoover says the remarkable thing about '06 is the fact that no kids lost their lives in fires. It brings an understanding to how fire officials are made to feel desperate to learn that in spite of their ongoing educational efforts, 2007 was host to eight more deaths than the year before.

While that sounds encouraging, the year before, 2005, saw only 28 people perish in fires. It is still a number that represents a lot of people and no less significant to those who suffered a loss, but only two years in the last ten saw the number that low.

Fire officials undoubtedly had a hard year in 2004, which saw 42 deaths in Oregon that were fire related.

2003 saw 30 in Oregon that were fire related.

In 2002, the number of fire related deaths in Oregon numbered 45, the third largest of the last ten years, second to 2007.

Forty people died in Oregon in 2001 as a result of fire related circumstances.

In 2000 the number of fire fatalities in Oregon was 42.

1999 was a year that saw 31 people die from fire in Oregon.

The total number of fatalities in 1998 in Oregon was 28. This is the lowest figure relating to fire deaths in Oregon out of the past ten years.

It was the year 1997 that saw an alarming jump in fire related deaths in Oregon. 54 people perished.

Unpredictable

"I expected to see a lot more cooking fires."

Hoover says the trends just change when it comes to the causes of fires, it is hard to know just what item or situation in a home could lead to a fire.

"Over the last year, we had one man die from falling asleep while he was smoking. One other death was caused by a short circuit in an extension cord."

Another item that caused a person to die in a fire last year is the candle warmer, an inexpensive device available at big box stores for around $5. Hoover says a family was unaware that one had fallen over, and had the capability of igniting a fatal house fire. "Well this was sitting on the table plugged in and on and it fell off the table and caused two deaths," Hoover said.

He says that one June 9th, three people died in a pick-up truck fire. That was just one of several deaths that occurred in Oregon during 2007.

"In addition to the June 9th incident, we had fatalities in vehicle-related fires July 14th, August 5th, and September 9th. Then on September 20th, a male and female perished in a vehicle fire."

He says the other vehicle fire death happened October 1st and involved a semi-truck.

Hoover says he hopes people really dial in and see fire safety as one of the most important aspects of their lives. There are a few things people can do to greatly increase their family's chance of surviving a fire. The Salem Fire Department has a free program for smoke detectors, if you don't have one please visit this link to learn how to receive yours: Fire and Life Safety