FROST, BURN
OKC FIRE CREWS BUSIEST DURING BITTER COLD
An Oklahoma City man’s Wednesday death is the latest in a troubling number of firerelated deaths this month.
About 4:50 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters responded to the 1100 block of SW 19 where smoke could be seen billowing from a single-story home. Inside, firefighters encountered heavy fire in a back room and located a man in a hallway.
Crews at the scene attempted to resuscitate the victim, whose name was not released, but he later died.
Less than a month into the year, Oklahoma City has already seen seven fire-related deaths in 2018, fire officials said. That figure is just three shy of the city's total for all of 2017.
“We know that, anytime that the temperatures dip and get
cold, that we’ll be busier,” Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson said. “As it pertains to structure fires, it's always been that way. This year, however, has been particularly bad.”
Temperatures this week dropped well below freezing for much of the state, part of a series of arctic fronts that first blasted the state in December, said Gary McManus, Oklahoma state climatologist.
“That first big arctic front on December 21st ushered in all this cold air and we’ve just seen repeated arctic fronts every few days, one or two a week, since that time period,” McManus said.
When looking at late December to mid January,
McManus said it was actually colder last year as there were more recorded hours below freezing. But cold fronts this year have packed a punch, leading to an extended period of cold air.
Three people were found dead after a Saturday morning fire at a vacant home in the 200 block of N Blackwelder Avenue, and three other people died the same week after fires broke out in two homes.
Fulkerson said it’s a particularly high number going into the year as there were a total of 10 firerelated fatalities in the city last year. He also said each incident had one thing in common.
“There were no working smoke alarms in any of those homes,” Fulkerson said.
With the fatal fires and the 53 total structure fires
firefighters had encountered for the year as of early Wednesday afternoon, Fulkerson said the department is pushing hard to re-educate the public of the importance of having working smoke alarms installed.
Although it’s still unknown what caused each of the fatal fires, Fulkerson said it was likely that the three victims in Saturday’s fire were transients looking for a place to stay warm. He said neighbors reported seeing homeless people in and out of the
home. During search of a vacant home next door, firefighters found the remnants of several small fires.
“These people, sadly, are in survival mode," he said. "It’s cold outside, they’re without a home, they’re going to go any place that they can to stay warm. That is a considerable problem that we’re seeing right now."
In 2017, firefighters responded to 400 structure fires, which, when averaged by month, is much lower than the number they’ve responded to in
January.
A large number of the structure fires have been at vacant properties, and Fulkerson said property owners should check regularly to make sure the buildings are properly secured.
“In reality, they’re going to get in, so you’re going to just have to go by there more regularly and make sure it’s boarded up well and keep doing that,” he said.
Like their counterparts in Oklahoma City, firefighters in Tulsa have been
busy with structure fires this month, with five firerelated fatalities. In 2017, Tulsa had a total of 10 fire-related deaths, a fire department official said.
The cause of those fires is also undetermined.
Fulkerson said he expects the number of structure fires to drop as the weather warms, but fires are expected as long the cold weather stays in place.
“Every time we have a bitter cold night, that’s when we get really busy,” Fulkerson said.