Louisiana Fire Marshal's Office Urges Vigilance for Winter Fires
Three adults and four children died in six fires between Oct. 15 and Oct. 25, according to the agency.
The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal is urging state residents to be vigilant about home fire safety, after a rash of fatal fires in October. Three adults and four children died in six fires between Oct. 15 and Oct. 25, according to the agency.
The fires occurred in all four of the agency's enforcement areas, and in most of them, there was no working smoke detector in the home where the fire occurred.
"This is unacceptable," said State Fire Marshal Chief H. "Butch" Browning. "We, along with local fire departments and districts, constantly hammer the point about the significant difference between life or death that smoke detectors can make. Not only do we need families to really hear that message, but we need them to act on it."
The agency partners with local fire departments and districts to provide free smoke alarm installations at any time of the year through its Operation Save-A-Life program, and it emphasizes the necessity of having a family escape plan that includes knowing two ways out of every room in the home. The office encourages families to practice their home escape plans on a monthly basis and is asking residents to use common sense when heating their homes during this fall and winter.