WASHINGTON – Every year there is a warning, but every year 3,000 people die in household fires.
Mark Brady, public information officer for Prince George’s County Fire Department, says the deaths usually occur because smoke detectors aren’t functioning properly when fire breaks out.
“A thousand of those people that died in residential fires could have been saved had they had a working smoke alarm,” he says. “People are starting to fire up their furnaces, use their fireplaces more, space heaters more, but they also really concern firefighters quite a bit.”
He says because of Hurricane Sandy this year is especially precarious. Area residents should check the batteries in smoke detectors to be ready in case of a fire.
WTOP’s Del Walters contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
