In late September in the small town of Greenville, NC, a popular local restaurant owner died during a fire inside his house in the middle of the night. The man’s two dogs also died in the fire. Unfortunately, it does not seem that this incident had to end up this way–smoke detectors just might have saved the man’s life.
Derek Oliviero was just 27 years old–young enough to be able to run from the house and avoid severe burns if he had become aware of the fire. But he died of smoke inhalation when his home stared burning because a faulty electrical outlet in the kitchen malfunctioned while he was asleep. Firefighter found the man in the house around 3 a.m. but he was unresponsive. They tried to revive him, but their efforts failed.
Neighbors witnessed the incident. “It took a long time to get him out of the house. It was really scary,” said one of them.
Here is another recent story that shows just how important smoke detectors are for saving lives when fire breaks out while people are asleep. In Fort Edward, NY, a family of four was able to escape without serious harm after their home caught fire early on a Sunday morning in early October.
Two members of the family suffered only minor smoke inhalation as they fled from the house at 12:30 a.m. The local fire chief said that two parents and two young children lived in the home, and that the father was awakened by a smoke detector. He then alerted the rest of the family after discovering a fire on the first floor.
The family climbed out a second-story window onto a porch roof, and then jumped from the roof to the ground as the fire quickly spread. “The smoke alarms saved their lives,” the chief said. “When we got there, fire was coming out all of the windows.”
The chief said the incident served as a good reminder for people to check their smoke detectors as the heating season begins. “They’re alive because of the smoke alarms,” he said.
Lastly, keep in mind that smoke detectors should be in more places than just the home. Here’s an example why: In late September, eleven elementary-school-aged children suffered smoke inhalation on a school bus outside Boston.
Boston police said that a possible engine malfunction caused smoke to build inside the school bus. All were reported to have minor injury from the smoke inhalation, and they were transported to local hospitals as a precaution.
In such a case, there might be legal liability on the part of the owners of the bus because of the injuries suffered by the children. Smoke inhalation can happen very quickly, and is dangerous because of the poison gases contained in the smoke. Even 5 or 10 seconds of inhaling smoke might require hyperbaric oxygen therapy to force fresh oxygen into the lungs and save the patient from death.
If you or someone you know suffers a burn injury or smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, NY so that the personal injury attorneys in the firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if you have a solid legal case.