Fire Marshal Reminds Residents to Stay Safe in this Season of House Fires

In recent weeks, the news has been filled with stories of house fires, including one in New York State in which a Marist student from Woodbridge was killed, as well as a fire in Stamford that took the lives of five family members. In light of the tragedies, has reminders for residents to help keep them safe in these winter months.

Burning wood, coal and pellets inside homes may come with monetary savings, but it also comes with hazards. According to White, the cause of the fire in Stamford, hot fireplace ashes placed on a back porch, is very common and very preventable.

“The night of the last snowstorm we had a resident who left a bundle of ashes on his back deck,” White said, “and it caught fire. Ashes can retain heat and smolder for days in a container.”

Another resident had cleaned his fireplace and set the ashes in a container for several days before tossing them into his yard. The embers started a brush fire.

“When you clean your fireplace, use a metal bucket for the ashes,” White said, “then bring them outside and water them down.”

White reminds residents to have enough fire detectors in their homes. While the New York home had them, and fire fighters could hear them going off when they arrived, they may not have been enough to awaken the sleeping students. White said every bedroom should have its own detector, and there should be one on each floor and outside each living area. He added that parents should consider sending a smoke detector with their college-age students who live either on or off campus.

White also stressed the importance of a carbon monoxide detector. CO can be generated by any fuel-fired appliance and is deadly. Every home should have a CO detector, and the batteries should be checked at least twice a year; when the clocks change in spring and fall is the recommended time to change batteries in all detectors.