Authorities see no common link among rash of area fires

By Emily Mullen
Times Herald

 

Experts advise families to be prepared in case of fire

By Emily Mullen
Times Herald

Education is the best defense against fire, and insurance is the best preparation to financially survive a blaze.

St. Clair Fire Capt. Bill Harvey said insurance coverage is critical for renters as much as for home and business owners. He said property owners have insurance on most of the structure fires to which the department is called.

Those who aren’t covered, he said, are usually renters.

"The more serious the fire, the more the damage is done monetarily," Capt. Harvey said. "If people do just one thing when preparing for fires, they should get renter’s insurance."

He suggested people videotape their apartment and its belongings. Then give the tape to someone outside your home to hold onto in case of a fire and present it to the insurance investigator as proof of your belongings.

Several insurance companies in St. Clair have a basic policy that covers about $15,000 in contents damaged or destroyed in a rented house or apartment fire. The annual fee ranges between $100 to $150 depending on the location of the rented structure, discounts applicable and the items covered.

Mary Gildenpfenig, office manager at the AAA of Michigan office in New Baltimore, said they charge $99 a year for basic renter’s insurance to cover up to $15,000. Other policies offer a wide variety of coverage plans.

Fire officials agree smoke detectors in each level of a home is a necessity, and exercising common safety practices, such as not leaving stoves unattended while cooking or falling asleep while smoking, are a sure way to prevent structure fires.

Fire officials also say it’s important for families to devise an escape route leading outside the home that is easy for children to follow in case a fire occurs. Planning includes making sure all windows can be opened for easy access to the outside of the house.

"We always try to get the message out on fire safety as far as what to do and do not do in the case of a fire," Capt. Dave Allen of the Port Huron Fire Department said. "Education is the key to fire prevention."

A March fire that raced through a $40,000 rental unit in the Clairview Condominiums in St. Clair destroyed a home and left residents of the 11-unit building homeless. Most of the building's residents won't be able to return home until June.

"We've been able to turn on the heat, electricity and gas in those units, but it sure has been a fight just to do that," said Ted Laidlaw, president of the Clairview Condominium Association and a relative of some of those left homeless.

The fire also is just one in a spate of recent fires in the Blue Water Area, a trend that has local officials baffled. Between March 28 and April 10, a China Township infant and an elderly Fort Gratiot woman died in house fires, a Cottrellville bar burned down and two homes were destroyed by lightning strikes in Burtchville Township.

Other structures have suffered fire damage in St. Clair, Port Huron and Clay and Kimball townships. A Marine City home was destroyed Tuesday morning by a fire that's still under investigation.

Authorities blame the fires on everything from careless cooking and smoking to poor appliance maintenance to electrical shortages. Some departments also are investigating possible arson.

"There isn't just one thing that causes a number of fires, there are a variety of reasons why they start," said Fort Gratiot Fire Chief Ron Nichols.

He said the season or time of year does not determine the number of structure fires, such as the case with tornadoes, hurricanes or forest fires.

"These fires aren't cyclical - it's just one of those things."

Impact and loss

Port Huron Fire Capt. Dave Allen said of the 689 calls they’ve received since Jan. 1, 23 were actual fires. In comparison, 17 fires were reported during the same time period in 2000.

Of the fire in Port Huron, 11 people have been injured but there have been no deaths. The other calls were medical emergencies, reports of down wires, false alarms and vehicle accidents.

"I don’t really think this number is above the normal measure for this time of year," Capt. Allen said, adding the number typically fluctuates from year to year.

Fire officials from other municipalities, such as Clay Township and Fort Gratiot, said their numbers are up this year.

Chief Nichols said of the 176 calls this year, seven were structure fires, one of which killed a resident. In 2000, Fort Gratiot had eight fires and no related deaths.

He said although the fire department, which has 28 volunteer firefighters, is busier this year, it is well prepared to handle an increase in fires.

Clay Township has had 10 structure fires of the 204 calls so far this year. One fire killed a 59-year-old woman.

"We have seen a significant increase in fires this year compared to last year," Fire Chief Rick Edler said. He did not have specific figures for 2000.

Burtchville Township Fire Chief David Lockwood said the township’s two structure fires are the only fires that have caused damage this year.

St. Clair has recorded eight fires thus far in 2001, Fire Capt. Bill Harvey said. Marine City Fire Chief Richard Tucker blames the rash of fires on more insidious factors.

"It seems that when the economy is good, we get fewer calls. When the economy is not so good, like now, fires seem to increase because people don’t want to pay for their property, so more arson occurs," he said.

Marine City had had six structure fires out of 204 calls this year, with three of them causing serious property damage. One of the fires is being investigated as a possible arson, Chief Tucker said.

Costs, needs

All St. Clair County fire departments operate on a mutual-aid agreement that requires fire stations to be on-call to assist any other fire station.

Some municipalities, such as Marysville, Marine City and St. Clair, have agreements with their neighboring towns for automatic assistance.

Since most of the county’s fire departments are small and primarily have a paid-per-call staff of volunteers (Marine City’s fire department currently is the only one with an unpaid volunteer staff), they depend on the services of one another to operate.

The city of Port Huron, Port Huron Township and Marysville are the only municipalities that have full-time staffed departments.

Port Huron has budgeted $4.5 million this year to cover the operating costs and salaries of 55 firefighters at three stations, maintain seven fire trucks and equipment and training.

Port Huron Township’s budget id $413,600 this year. Marysville has budgeted more than $1 million.

Smaller departments with equally small budgets face a dwindling number of firefighters available to battle blazes. Even with the mutual-aid agreements, small departments strain to keep the ranks filled.

"Because of this assistance, we’re very well-equipped as far as fire trucks and equipment goes, but since the department has only paid-per-call personnel, it’s sometimes hard to find the people we need," Chief Edler said.

He blames the lack of volunteers on an increase in the amount of training required to be a firefighter. Both professional and volunteer firefighters receive the same training.

Chief Lockwood said Burtchville Township has 19 volunteers but needs 25 to operate efficiently. He also said the training requirements inhibit some potential volunteers.

 

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