WTHR, IN – Mar 31, 2008
Tom Walker/Eyewitness News

Washington – The United States has one of the highest fire death tolls in the world. People have joined together to come up with a national strategy.

Last week, dozens of people were forced from their homes when an apartment complex went up in flames in Lawrence. The residents in Lawrence survived the fire, but there are more than 3,000 fire-related deaths across the country every year. Most of those killed are children.

“If you have a fire in your home, people think it was an accident. But it’s not. So many times it is so preventable and avoidable, but people don’t think of it as such,” said fire safety advocate Ed Comeau.

Experts and activists from all over the country are coming together for the first time to try to figure out how to prevent the deadliest fires.

Many of them think sprinklers mandated in new homes could be the life-saving difference in the few minutes it takes for fire to engulf a living area.

“Those residential sprinklers will activate and keep that fire at bay most times long enough for the occupants to get out of the house and that’s what the goal is,” said firefighter Sean DeCrane.

A coalition has formed to promote sprinkler requirements. The supporters argue that the cost is not as prohibitive as one might think. A small house would cost a few hundred dollars if the sprinklers were installed when it was built.

Others say sprinklers are a good long-term goal, but more urgent needs exist.

“Sprinklers aren’t going to help anybody, because the people that are dying in fires live in HUD housing, low-end apartment buildings, houses without smoke detectors,” reminded Shawn Longerich of the People’s Burn Foundation in Indianapolis.

This week’s forum is expected to recommend new sprinkler laws, but perhaps give higher priority to something even more basic – educating the public about the deadly danger of fire and how to prevent it.

The leading causes of fatal fires are smoking, heating, and arson.

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