NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — We were deeply saddened to learn last week that a 5-year-old boy had perished in an apartment fire in Rogers on Valentine’s Day.
According to his obituary, Brenden Poe loved to sing and to play sports, and he was very popular among his friends at ABC Happy Kids in Rogers. He was preparingto enter kindergarten this fall.
Brenden’s death was tragic, and at the same time an alltoo-familiar tale around here.
Brenden became the fifth Benton County child to die because of fire in just over a year.
Last February, a house fire in Bella Vista killed a family of five, including three girlsages 4, 9 and 11. A few months after that, a mobile home fire in Highfill killed a 6-year-old boy.
Despite all the technological advancements we’ve made as a society over the course of countless generations, fire remains an ever-present danger to our health and our lives.
The threat probably will never be completely vanquished, but we can take steps to significantly reduce it.
Arkansas has good reason to pay attention to this issue. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week that our state has the third-highest fire death rate in the nation. Statistics from 2007 (the latest available) show that Arkansas had 26 fire deaths per million residents, nearly double the national rate of 13.2 deaths per million.
One reason for this might be the rural nature of our state. Building codes are only as good as enforcement capabilities. In rural areas, the authority to enforce codes is often lacking.
Young children face the greatest risk of death or injury in home fires, with 52 percent of all child fire deaths in 2007 involving children under the age of 4, according to a report just released by the U.S. Fire Administration.
Families should ensure there are working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on each level of their homes and both inside and outside sleeping areas. Alarm batteries should be tested once per month and changed at least once per year.
Winter always poses greater potential for deadly fires as people seek different ways of staying warm. Heating and cooking are the two main causes of winter house fires.
Rogers Fire Department officials suspect that a space heater was at the root of Brenden Poe’s death.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters are involved in 25 percent of home heating fires, but account for about 75 percent of the deaths.
Obviously, anyone who uses space heaters should do so with extreme caution. If one tips over, or an article of clothing is inadvertently dropped on it, anything can happen.
Also, be sure to treat backup heat sources with care.
During the 2009 ice storm, at least two Northwest Arkansas homes burned after residents mishandled kerosene heaters. Kerosene can be dangerous if handled improperly. Portable gasoline-powered generators can catch fire either because of fueling accidents or electrical overload.
We urge families to talk about the risk of fire and to discuss escape plans in case fire should strike.
A good starting point for conversation is the website www.ready.gov/kidsfiresafety, which FEMA has set up to provide parents with fire-safety tips and lists of resources.
Our schools typically teach kids a little bit about fire safety, but those lessons must be reinforced in the home. It can’t hurt parents to review these tips as well. Let’s all try to be safer.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/22/2011