TOLEDO, Ohio — Fire crews are still trying to piece together what caused a home on Garden Park Drive in west Toledo to go up in flames Saturday night, killing an elder woman.
The woman's family members were still picking up what was left Monday afternoon and realized what may have been missing all along.
"The alarming system wasn't there," said Pvt. Sterling Rahe, a spokesman for Toledo Fire and Rescue.
With no working smoke detectors in the home, fire crews used this tragedy as an opportunity for community outreach.
"Hand out some fire safety tips, talk to any residents that have any questions," Rahe said.
"We want to make sure people are safe," he continued. "We still have people that don't have smoke alarms. We still have people that when we ask them, 'do you have a safety plan?' or ask children in school, 'have you talked about a safety plan with the adults you live with?' and their answer is no."
Detection is critically important but so is prevention. The weather outside will soon be frightful. In fact, November has already had frigid cold days while breaking record lows.
While some heat inside could make your evenings quite delightful, you should know a few things before turning on that space heater.
"If you have an older one, replace it," Rahe said.
Different materials, according to Rahe, heat up at different temperatures and speeds.
His advice? Keep your eyes wide open and use common sense.
"Use a three-foot buffer zone," Rahe said. "If you have young kids, don't use it when the kids are around. Keep it away from the kids. Never leave the room unattended."
The consequences could sneak up on you.
"We go from a very small ignition point, within three minutes it will grow 10-15 times that size," Rahe said.
So bear in mind those risks before you crank up the heat.
"These are controllable risks. These are predictable."