Number Of Fire Fatalities Falling In Miss.

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It can destroy property and lives.

More people die in Mississippi because of fire related deaths than in most other states. That’s according the State Firefighters Association.

This year, the number of people killed because of a fire, 27 in all, is lower.

In 2012, 51 fire deaths were reported in Mississippi.

That number is much lower than the 84 deaths in 2011.

Anthony Colom with the Columbus Fire Department says most fatal fires occur at a certain time of day.

“Half of your home fire deaths that are reported happen between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am when people are asleep. Most of your fires occur in kitchens. You do have a lot of deaths from ciagrette smoking in bed,” said Colom.

Over the last five years there has been a 36% decrease in fire related deaths in Mississippi.
Firefighters say it’s important to start educating kids at a young age about fire safety.

“We’ve actually noticed a major decrease in fire related fatalities. We do have our rare fire fatalities but the kids, when we do these school tours, they go home and they bug their parents because of everything that we’ve tried to teach them about checking your smoke detectors, making sure that’s something you don’t put in the back of your mind. That you actually lay your hands on and check every year,” said Captain Chip Kain with the Columbus Fire Department.

Kain encourages families to always have an escape plan and practice it often.

“You know your house like the back of your hand while your looking but now put something over your eyes where you cant see and show me how you can get out of this house. Show me how you can get to that bedroom window and open that window if you need to go out the window and they actually enjoy it when you sit down and do it. They make a game of it, see who can get out the quickest,” said Captain Kain.

It’s a winning strategy that will save lives.

National Fire Prevention Month is celebrated with activities throughout October.