JACKSON, Miss. — More than half of Mississippi’s 55 residential fire deaths in 2015 happened in homes with no working smoke alarms.
Fire Marshal Mark Chaney told the Associated Press seven Mississippi State students who survived a house fire last week are a testament to the lifesaving power of smoke alarms. Chaney said the smoke alarm woke one student at about 2:30 a.m. and he woke the other students so they were all able to evacuate the home safely.
“Fortunately, the landlord of this house had been proactive ... and had had the home hard-wired with interconnected smoke alarms. It was a very smart thing to do,” said City of Starkville Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy. “Had that smoke alarm not worked, I have no doubt we would have been dealing with multiple fatalities.”
Chaney’s office investigated 55 civilian fire deaths in 2015 and found that just more than half of the homes had either no alarm or one that was not working.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were nearly 2,300 civilian fire deaths in 2015. Of those, 112 people died in a home with no working smoke alarm. USFA figures are based on media reports.
The Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s office and local fire departments are working to install smoke alarms in high-risk homes as well as homes with older adults, children and people with disabilities. According to Chaney, alarms have been installed in 27,000 homes and include more than 54,000 standard smoke alarms, 209 bed shaker devices and 75 strobe smoke alarms.
The Red Cross is also teaming with local fire departments in the effort to install more smoke alarms. Anyone in need of a smoke alarm should contact a local fire department.