Firefighter discusses string of fatal house fires, offers prevention tips

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio --

Within the past month, house fires have claimed the lives of five people across the Ohio Valley.

Last month, a teenager didn't make it out of a house fire in Steubenville. Less than two weeks later, a house fire in Triadelphia turned fatal. Then most recently, residents were killed in house fires in Moundsville and Powhatan Point.

A firefighter who was at the scene of a fatal blaze in Steubenville said, though this kind of activity is unusual, it has happened before.

"We go through periods where there's a lot of activity, there's a lot of fatalities, a lot of injuries, property loss," said Steubenville Fire Department Assistant Chief Carlo Capaldi.

In response, Capaldi said everyone should remember basic fire safety to protect themselves and their loved ones. Some of those tips are as a simple as keeping a smoke detector in every room.

In addition, firefighters stress that no one should go back inside a home that's on fire for anything once they've escaped; it's much safer for firefighters to go in.

For more home fire prevention tips, visit the U.S. Fire Administration website at www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev.