With 20 fire deaths in L.A. so far this year, more smoke alarms are urged

After an unusually high number of fire deaths this year, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas announced new initiatives Monday to prevent dangerous fires.

Terrazas announced that the fire department is launching a pilot program in Watts in which firefighters will canvas neighborhood blocks to provide smoke alarms and batteries for homes. Detectors and batteries are also available for free at all 106 fire stations in the city, he said.

So far in 2014, there have been 20 deaths from structure fires, which is close to a typical yearly average for the city, Terrazas said.

“That is 20 deaths too many,” he said.

Last year, there were 20 fire-related deaths and 22 in 2012. There were 21 in 2011 and 23 in 2010.

In 16 of the cases this year, there were either no fire alarms in the home, or existing fire alarms weren’t working, he said. Functioning smoke alarms increase the chance of surviving a fire by roughly 50%, Terrazas said.

The fire department will also team up with the American Red Cross in the organization’s national effort to provide 500,000 smoke alarms to neighborhoods with high fire fatality rates.

Jarrett Barrios, chief executive of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, said that 40% of fire fatalities occur in homes without functioning smoke alarms. The initiative to provide smoke alarms could have a big effect on the 4% of homes that don’t have functioning alarms.

Given the high number of fire fatalities this year in Los Angeles, Barrios called the initiative “well-timed and not soon enough.”

The fire department has also formed a Fire Casualty Reduction Task Force to analyze factors contributing to fire deaths to determine what new prevention measures may be needed.

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