By Alicia Ebaugh
The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Fewer people statewide are dying in fires. But the deaths of Troy Hansen in a Center Point duplex blaze last month and of a man in Williamsburg early Monday show there's still work to do when it comes to safety awareness.

Hansen, 22, and Terry White 65, of Williamsburg are among 30 people who have died this year going into these last few days of 2007 as a result of fire, said Jeffrey Quigle, assistant director of the State Fire Marshal's Office.

The number of fire deaths in Iowa has been going down in past years, Quigle said Wednesday -- from 48 in 2005, and 33 in 2006. He credits numerous causes for the decrease, including public service announcements about preventing holiday-related fires and more smoke detectors being installed.

"I think people are more cognizant about what they need to do to protect themselves," he said. "But there's always more you can do." One of those things is requiring that only fire-safe cigarettes be sold, Quigle said. A bill signed into law in May will make that requirement an Iowa law starting Jan. 1, 2009.

"These cigarettes will extinguish themselves if they are not being smoked, so if someone falls asleep it can't ignite nearby items," he said. "Cigarette manufacturers have been ahead of the curve and are making these already. This will save more lives." At least three people in Iowa died in fires this year that started as a result of careless smoking, Quigle said, and the death toll nationwide averages about 800 each year for that same reason.

The most recent Eastern Iowa fire death happened Monday when White was found dead inside his semi-trailer truck about three miles northeast of Williamsburg.

In Center Point, Hansen died of carbon monoxide inhalation during a fire that started with a boiling pan of oil on his stove Nov. 18, officials determined.

Hansen's is the lone reported fire-related death to date in Linn and Johnson counties this year. Alcohol intoxication was another factor in his death, according to Linn County Medical Examiner Don Linder. Hansen likely fell asleep and forgot he was cooking food on the stove, fire officials said.

Copyright 2007 The Gazette
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