Fatal house fire May 7
An elderly couple in Kensington died last night when their home burned, in spite of heroic behavior from neighbors and local emergency personnel. My thoughts are with them, and those who cared about them.
It is believed – but not confirmed – that their home was not equipped with smoke detectors. It may not have helped, even if they did: Mrs. Reynolds had limited mobility, and may not have been able to escape even with ample warning. The following is no way meant as an indictment of the Reynolds, for whom I have nothing but sympathy.
Rant: I’m the first to admit it: smoke detectors are annoying. They chirp when their batteries get low, they have that little red eye that glows eerily at you, they scream deafening bloody murder and scare the bejeesus out of you when you spill drippings onto the bottom of the oven or get overly enthusiastic with your sautéing. They are one more random thing you need to pay attention to at least once or twice a year. They also greatly reduce the chance that you’ll be trapped inside a burning building. Get a smoke detector. Please. Actually install it in your home. Vacuum the grill of the one(s) you have, and change the batteries. Test it to make sure it’s still functioning. Do these things even if you don’t care if you die in your bed of smoke inhalation. Do them because it may mean firefighters and other rescue personnel won’t have to risk their lives to go into a burning building to try to get you out. /Rant
(Disclosure: I’m an EMT. I volunteer with a local rescue squad. I know and associate with a number of other EMS personnel, professional and volunteer, locally and in other parts of the country. I’ve been on the scene of a fatal house fire. I wasn’t there last night, but I work with people who were.)
porntipsguzzardo May 24
My smoke detector has been sitting on my kitchen counter for 8 months. I figure I have a good enough sense of smell, and cat-like reflexes.