Two elderly women died in separate fire accidents in Queens recently. The first accident occurred recently in the Rockaways, Queens where a fire caused by careless smoking quickly spread through the 15th floor of a high rise apartment located at 7-11 Seagirt Ave. Unfortunately, there was no smoke alarm in the house and the 71 year old woman who was living in the apartment died in the fire.
Later on during the day another fire caused by an electrical extension killed 82 year old Audrey Hebling. The woman was found unconscious in the kitchen of her house located at 252nd Street between 87th Road and 87th Drive in Bellrose Manor. Again, there was no smoke alarm in the house.
Last weekend the FDNY also had to battle a massive blaze in Staten Island during which 20 of them got injured, including 4 seriously. The fire that destroyed several properties on Steinway Ave was sparked by a child who was playing with a lighter.
Carelessness when smoking, electrical fires, candles and cooking are the main causes of fire accidents in the City. Too many people have lost their lives in accidents that were preventable and it’s clear that far too many homes do not have required smoke alarms. It’s the law in the city that buildings have both properly working smoke and CO2 alarms.
Tragically, 50 people have died in fires so far in 2018 — the most deaths in the first five months of any year in more than a decade. Further, if we go back to the month of December 2017, when 26 people were killed by fire, the recent numbers are very concerning and trending in the wrong direction.
As recently as 2016, the city was at an all-time low for fire deaths in 100 years and, overall, the last decade has been the safest in terms of fewest fire deaths on record. However, with the goal of having zero fire deaths in our city, these recent tragedies are certainly cause for alarm.
Most of these fires are preventable and require people to do simple things to eliminate risks like extinguishing cigarettes, candles and other open flames; not using thin extension cords to connect with appliances like air conditioners or space heaters that draw significant electrical loads; and not smoking while in bed.
And when all else fails, the last line of protection to alert occupants — whether sleeping at night or in a room remote from where a fire starts — is a properly placed and working smoke alarm. National studies have found that your chance of surviving a fire is improved by more than 50% when you have a working smoke alarm. In New York City, the lack of working smoke alarms has been cited in as many as 70% of all deaths annually.
Over the last two years, the FDNY Foundation partnered with government and others to distribute more than 155,000 smoke alarms throughout the city — including installing 85,000 in homes and apartments with the help of Red Cross volunteers.
Hopefully these recent tragedies will lead to safer fire prevention and that starts with a little extra care and working smoke alarms must be placed in all apartments throughout the city.
NY Daily News Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-saving-more-lives-from-fire-20180613-story.html