Dousing the flames
in 2007

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The number of reported fires and fire-related deaths in Philadelphia declined in 2007 compared to the previous year, although fire-related injuries rose slightly, according to year-end statistics released by the Philadelphia Fire Department last week.
The 46 fatalities for the year were six fewer than the 2006 total, an 11.5 percent decline. Yet, the 2007 total was 14 deaths (30.4 percent) higher than the recent low of 32 in 2002.
Citing an analysis of the circumstances of the fatal fires, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers in announcing the data said that properly installed and operable smoke alarms may have helped save the lives of many victims.
"In keeping with our goal of zero fire deaths, smoke alarms still remain the best protection for early warning of a fire," Ayers said.
In working toward that goal, the fire department distributed and installed nearly 30,000 smoke alarms throughout the city during the year.
Of the 46 deaths, 36 (78.2 percent) occurred in fires where no smoke alarms were present or where the alarms had dead batteries or no batteries. Most of the fatalities occurred at night, 26 between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. All but three of those occurred where there were no operable smoke alarms.
Children and senior citizens were the most vulnerable to fire death as 11 children age 9 and younger perished, along with 13 adults age 65 and older.
Thirty-three individual fires were fatal, with eight claiming multiple lives, including one fire in which five people perished. That Feb. 11 blaze occurred in a boarded-up West Philadelphia rowhouse where a 25-year-old mother and her four children, ages 2 to 6, were squatting. Ayers was quoted at the time stating that the young woman’s relatives had warned her about safety hazards at the dilapidated house, where her deceased mother once lived.
While prying plywood from the second-floor windows as they battled the blaze, firefighters found the victims lying unresponsive on their beds. Attempts to revive them were not successful.
Other notable fatalities included a homeless person who died in the street as a result of careless smoking and another person who lost control of a fire in a 55-gallon drum on a front lawn.
In another case, a person died in a fire where a hard-wired smoke alarm sounded, but the victim silenced it and did not evacuate the building. The department’s year-end report did not explain why that victim did not flee the fire.
Among the 46 fire deaths, eight were linked directly to careless smoking, while five resulted from children playing with matches.
Five deaths resulted from fires resulting from misuse of electrical appliances, including a lamp, an iron, a hot plate and a freezer. Failures in permanent electrical wiring caused five deaths, while non-permanent wiring resulted in five more.
Investigators blamed open flame for seven deaths, such as candles, cooking equipment and open burning. Cooking fires resulted in another seven lost lives.
Fires caused by portable heaters, one propane and one electric, killed two people. There were two arson deaths last year.
According to the fire department’s count, 165 people suffered non-fatal injuries as a result of fires in 2007, compared to 159 for the previous year. Last year’s total still was drastically less than the 239 fire injuries incurred in 2005. The latest total was the second lowest in the city in the last 10 years.
Similarly, the year-end report concluded, the total number of structural fires continued a downward trend last year. The annual total has declined from 2,357 in 2004 to 2,272 in 2005 and 2,165 in 2006. Though full 2007 data was unavailable at the time the report was released, the department remained confident that there were fewer building fires than previous years.
There were 27 multiple-alarm fires, 10 of which were caused by arson.
Meanwhile, calls for emergency medical service continued to account for the vast majority of 911 calls handled by the fire department.
Of 264,129 calls for service throughout the year, 81 percent or 213,901 were medical issues. However, for the first time in a decade, the number of EMS calls did not increase. The total actually declined slightly. The department attributed the decline to its efforts to educate the public about proper use of the 911 emergency system.
Fire department medics transported 127,887 patients to medical care facilities.
The Philadelphia Fire Academy graduated 160 new firefighters on May 25 and four new fire paramedics on June 20. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com