Maryland has experienced the worst increase in fire deaths in recent decades during the first three months of 2023, with close to 40 Marylanders losing their lives to fire from the eastern shore to the mountains of western Maryland. Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci expressed deep concern about the trend and emphasized the need to slow it down immediately.
Geraci highlighted the dangers of fires burning faster and hotter these days, producing toxic smoke that can kill quickly. Fire does not discriminate and can occur in homes at any given time, with homeowners having the least amount of time to escape a fire than at any other time in history.
Geraci advised that the leading causes of fires in Maryland are cooking, electrical, smoking materials, and heating appliances, with failure to recognize the causes of fires and take steps to prevent them from happening being the leading circumstances of Marylanders dying in fires.
To reduce the risk of fires, Geraci advised homeowners to have working smoke alarms on every level of their home, outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom. Battery-only alarms should be ten-year sealed battery alarms. If anyone needs smoke alarms, they should call the local fire department or the State Fire Marshal's Office, where the alarms are free, and assistance is provided to install them.
At night, Geraci advised homeowners to ensure all bedroom doors are closed and close all doors behind them when escaping a fire to prevent the spread of smoke and fire throughout the home and give more time to be rescued if trapped by a fire.
Geraci also advised families to develop an escape plan that includes two ways out of every room, openable door locks without using a key, and operational bedroom windows from the inside. A meeting place outside the home should also be designated so families can ensure everyone got out.
Geraci emphasized that once homeowners are out of a burning building, they should never go back inside, as they will not come back out alive. Instead, they should immediately call 911 to get the fire department started as soon as possible.
Geraci concluded by urging everyone to remember that fire is everyone's fight, and homeowners' help is needed to prevent fires in their homes, keeping themselves, their families, and firefighters safe. Following these five steps will help save lives in the event of an unwanted fire in the home.
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