PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In 2022, the U.S. Fire Administration reported 168 civilian home fire fatalities.
In Philadelphia alone, 41 people were killed in fires and more than 200 were injured. Just this week, on Tuesday morning, five people, including a child, were injured after a fire broke out in a row home in the Morrell Park section of Northeast Philadelphia and spread to two adjacent houses.
With that in mind, Gustav Baumann, Philadelphia Fire Department's chief of fire prevention, shared how to best protect yourself and your family in case of fire.
Many neighborhoods in Philly are comprised of homes that are attached, be it a rowhome, twin or condominium, which is why Baumann says the first step in fire prevention awareness is being neighborly.
“Keep an eye out for each other,” he said. “Get to know your neighbors. It's not so much that you want to be in their business, but you want to learn their habits.”
“Just as you would look out for them in a medical emergency or if there was a crime happening, you would want to know if they had an issue that could cause a fire, or to let them know they are having a fire."
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Baumann said that, in order to prepare for a fire emergency, especially in homes that are attached, people should understand how fire works. He explained that how it grows and spreads is much different now than it was in the mid-20th century.
"What has changed since the 1970s is the type of fire we have,” he said. “The furnishings that are in our homes burn hotter and faster than they ever did.”
“The normal furniture that you would have in a bedroom or living room back in 1970 – it took about 15 minutes for that fire to reach 1,100 degrees.”
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Baumann explained that now – in the same room with newer, modern furniture made with plastics and synthetics – the time has been reduced to about two and a half minutes.
That difference impacts the spread of the fire to the next house and determines getting out or not. This is also why Baumann said when you live in an attached home, you have to think about the safety of your neighbors as well as yourself.
He suggests avoiding putting items against your home, stacking trash or placing a grill there.
Baumann said that whether it be summer or winter if you have a gas grill, the propane tank for it can be explosive.
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“Many decks now are not made of wood, but composite materials. Now, instead of flames shooting straight up, a composite deck will melt like hot lava, drip and set other things below on fire.”
He also noted how dangerous mulch can be, as it is made of organic material, can smolder if it gets too hot and start a fire. And, more so, smoking.
"If you are going to smoke outside, please get a container, a can, and fill it with sand, water – a mixture of wet sand.”
Baumann said people should take their cigarette and put it in the mixture, not flick, drop or throw it.
“You want to make sure it is extinguished before you go into the house."
Baumann says fire is everyone's fight and the best emergency phone call is the one you never have to make.