INDIANAPOLIS – Fire-related deaths are on the rise, and Indianapolis has already seen as many incidents this year than in 2016 total.
Indianapolis firefighters said many of the deaths happened when a fire broke out and no working smoke detectors were in the home.
Three people died in a house fire on the city’s east side in March – two of them were children. Days later, a man died in an apartment fire in Franklin Township.
“That's just unnerving for me, for the firefighters on the scene to know that the person in the house didn't have an early warning and didn't have a chance to get out of the house,” said IFD Battalion Chief Courtney Gordon. “That's what smoke detectors provides, it gives you early warning."
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Kristina East, the mother of the two children who died in east side fire, said to check smoke detectors “every day.”
“Make sure they go off. Make sure the batteries work. Make sure of everything. You never know what can happen. It happens so quick,” she said.
Those in need of a smoke detector can call the fire department hotline for assistance at (317) 327-6093.
