Fire deaths in Michigan were up by 144% during January. Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer tells WSJM News the state has recorded 18 fires resulting in 22 deaths, all accidental and preventable.
“One common thing that a lot of these fatal fires have is that there are no working smoke alarms present at the time of the fire,” Sehlmeyer said.
Last year, 67% of the 107 fire fatalities in Michigan involved adults over the age of 40 and the majority of those fires started in the living room or in a bedroom. The top three causes of fatal fires in 2021 were smoking, heating devices like space heaters, and cooking. Sehlmeyer says it isn’t hard to get a smoke detector.
“Even reaching out to your local fire department, many times they have smoke alarms. They have them available. They can even help you with putting them up.”
Sehlmeyer says if he could get one message out to people, it would be to get out and stay out as quickly as possible if a fire occurs in your home. That’s why he says smoke detectors and escape plans are important. He notes you have about three minutes to get out in the event of a fire.
