This fire is yet another incident underscoring the importance of fire prevention and life safety education.
Could this tragic accident have been prevented somewhere along the way?
We may never know, but I have to believe that if the fault chain ended with someone installing a properly-sized fuse, these six children would be alive today.
How many times have you seen someone under-fuse or overload an electrical circuit in their home?
How often have you gone into a house and seen extension cords running all over the place, electrical outlets with expansion plugs on top of expansion plugs, or daisy-chained powerstrips leading to televisions, computers, and appliances?
Despite environmental concerns, people are bringing more and more power-hungry electrical devices into their homes. This condition can stress the electrical systems in buildings beyond their design limits, causing increased fire risk.
Beyond proper enforcement of building and fire codes in both new and existing structures, we must provide community members with a better understanding of how seemingly innocuous behaviors can lead to horrible outcomes.
Whose responsibility is it to educate them? Among others...it is our responsibility.
