With the winter months being the most dangerous -- and deadly -- for fires, homeowners are being urged to take precautions, from checking smoke detectors to snuffing out candles. But the safest move of all, fire officials say, may be to have an emergency plan in place that includes fire drills with the entire family.
With 31 deaths so far, this year has seen more people perish in fires in Baltimore than any year since 1998, a toll that has devastated families and alarmed officials. The city accounts for more than one-third of the state's 86 fire deaths.
A recent fire in Baltimore's Roland Park killed two children, and a Gaithersburg fire last week claimed three family members, including a 5-year-old boy.
Nationally, more than two-thirds of fatalities occur in homes that lack working smoke alarms. December accounts for the most candle-ignited fires.
Most house fires are related to carelessness or neglect in smoking, cooking, home heating and electrical safety, fire officials say. They worry that most families do not have a fire emergency plan.
People have less time to escape a house fire than they think, and typically they think they have a few minutes.
"A smoke alarm only cuts the risk of dying in a fire by half," said Battalion Chief Michael Cox of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, citing national statistics. "Smoke alarms, they only buy you precious seconds to evacuate a house."
Residents don't realize that flames, heat or thick, black smoke may obscure their path to the door. And it can take less than a minute for flames to engulf a room; seconds for a person to be overcome by smoke or fumes.
That is why fire prevention and safety is stressed. Protecting your family and home, your biggest asset, requires knowing the basics about fire, understanding alarm options and being aware of issues that can make your house vulnerable.
Most fatal house fires occur at hours when people are sleeping.
"Many people believe they will be awakened by the smell of smoke. Nothing could be further from the truth," said Cox.
Smoke, which kills far more people than fire, travels up first and then horizontally. So in case of fire, stay low to the floor, officials warn.
The heat in a house fire can reach more than 1,300 degrees, causing synthetic and petroleum-based furnishings to melt and burn, releasing toxic fumes.
Fire officials talk in terms of a fire load -- combustibles such as furniture that can fuel a fire -- and that's one reason they recommend clearing out clutter and keeping anything that can burn far from heat sources.
"It's a general housekeeping thing," said Battalion Chief Joseph J. Fannon Jr. of the Baltimore County Fire Department.
Fire officials offer these tips:
Keep things away from the furnace, hot water heater and fireplace that can burn. Don't shove stuff in a small closet area if that is where the furnace and flue pipe are.
A rule of thumb is this: If you are hot, so is everything near you, and heat can cause a fire.
If you use a space heater, give it space.
Newer materials in home furnishings have more fire retardants.
Smoke alarms
Controversy is raging over which kind of smoke alarm is better: ionization or photoelectric.
Ionization detects smoke from flames using electrical charges. Photoelectric detects smoke using a beam of light.
Alarms that use ionization are more common.
Massachusetts is poised to become the first state to require the photoelectric kind, which is championed by Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Fleming, who says its sensitivity gets an alert out sooner.
Maryland officials say both kinds of alarms have value.
"Our recommendation is they make a dual alarm, and it is best to have both, quite frankly," said Maryland State Fire Marshal William E. Barnard.
Laws and recommendations vary among jurisdictions, but current codes for new homes in most places, including Baltimore, call for one alarm on each level of a home, including one outside the sleeping areas, and one inside each bedroom.
No matter the type, the most important thing is to have a smoke alarm. Other things homeowners should know:
Install new smoke-alarm batteries at least twice a year, when you change your clocks for daylight saving time.
Some advances are being made in smoke detection, including alarms tied into home security networks, alarms that enable parents to record a wake-up-and-get-out message, and lithium battery-operated alarms that work for a decade before replacement is needed.
Escape plans
Households should craft an evacuation plan -- and use drills so that everyone stays familiar with it.
Parents and adults should assess their ability to reach sleeping children and household members who are disabled.
Older children can understand what to do if parents can't reach them.
"But a 2- or 3-year old just doesn't think like that. Sit down with each child and show them," said Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright.
Practice and demonstrations are in order. Here's how:
Start by making a floor plan of your house, showing doors and windows. The grid at nfpa.org/escapeplan can help.
Walk your family through the house and identify at least two exits from each room, and keep those places accessible. You may want to consider buying a fire escape ladder.
Choose an outdoor place a safe distance from your home where everyone must meet. It can be a stop sign at the corner. This allows you to be able to quickly know who's missing.
Once out, do not go back into a burning structure.
People worried that cats and dogs won't get out should consider having the animals sleep with the rest of the family.
Sprinklers
Sprinklers are required in new single-family houses in 23 areas in Maryland and in all new townhouses and multifamily homes in the state.
However, they are not required in new single-family houses in Baltimore, said Baltimore Fire Marshal Robert Doedderlein.
Typically, fire safety officials champion sprinklers for new single-family houses, saying they add a few thousand dollars to the cost and can extinguish or contain a fire.
But the International Residential Building Code does not require them, and builder associations oppose a requirement, saying they are not cost-effective, and new fire retardants in materials and construction practices make new homes much less of a fire risk, said Steve Orlowski, of the National Association of Home Builders.
Old vs. new homes
The Baltimore fire of 1904 wiped out a lot of the housing stock, and fire codes have changed drastically in the century since then.
Older homes, especially in the city, have particular challenges.
What's called a "cockloft," an opening through the common attic, enables fires to spread through old rowhouses -- but that construction practice ended long ago.
Also, balloon construction of the early 1900s turns the open channels between interior and exterior walls into chimneys, said Cartwright.
Older houses may also have screw-in fuses, which can spark, and electrical systems long out of date for current uses. Officials advocate making appropriate replacements.
And older houses might not have two exits from every room.
But, fire officials caution, the open plans of newer home design can allow fire and smoke to sweep through an area. At the same time, more modern construction slows the spread of fire between floors with a barrier and newer materials.
Tom Atwood, a real estate agent with Long & Foster in Federal Hill, said a thorough home inspection identifying potential fire hazards is crucial to buyers and sellers. The problems generally are not sticking points, but who pays to address them might be, he said.
Walls between rowhouses slow the spread of fire, said Richard Mezan, owner of a house inspection company in Baltimore. That means inspectors should comb the walls, typically brick, to ensure they are fully sealed.
Buyers and sellers need to understand what a house's fire safety features are, whatever the age of the building, Mezan said.
andrea.siegel@baltsun.com
HOLIDAY FIRE SAFETY
Besides paying attention to guests, decorations and gifts, people should pay particular attention at this time of year to holiday-season fire hazards. Fire safety officials offer this advice:
Holiday lights
-- Make sure the strings of electric lights have no defects. Check the strands periodically during the holiday to make sure they are not getting hot. Do not mount lights in a way that damages the cord. Use clips to position them. Never use nails.
Extension cords
-- Never run them under a rug or where they will get stepped on. Power cords, with a safety shutdown, are preferable.
Christmas trees
-- On your tree, turn the lights on only when you are there. To keep a live tree well-watered, keep water in the stand at all times; if you prefer an articifial tree, make sure it is flame-retardant.
Decorations
-- Don't use flammable decorations on a tree with electrical lights. Use decorations that are noncombustible or labeled flame-retardant.
Candles
-- Candles should be lit only when you are in the room; don't leave them unattended or allow them to burn while you sleep. No lit candles on a tree or decoration.
Gatherings
-- If you or your guests are smoking, make sure matches and lighters are away from youngsters, that you provide deep ash trays and that cigarettes are fully extinguished. Don't dump ashes and butts in the trash; douse with water before discarding them. If you send smokers outside, make sure they don't flick ashes into the mulch.
[Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Fire Prevention Association, Baltimore City Fire Department, New York Department of State ]
SMOKE ALARMS
If you can't afford smoke alarms, some local fire agencies can help. Baltimore officials have installed more than 100,000 alarms in homes. Call 410-396-5752 to request them in the city, or contact your local fire department.