The Shelby County Fire Department has explained the origins of two recent Lakeland fires in the homes of elderly residents, and the department reported answering 53 medical calls and 14 fire calls in Lakeland during December.
During the monthly report to the Lakeland city board on Jan. 8, deputy fire chief Dale Burress asked citizens to help ensure the elderly have smoke alarms and to alert the fire department if they do not. The department will provide smoke detectors at no cost if needed.
Burress also updated the board on two serious fires in Lakeland during December:
♦ 9036 Breckenridge Cove, home of Reva and Don Brown: A fire destroyed their home the night after Christmas, but the couple escaped and suffered only smoke inhalation.
Burress said there was no delay in receiving the emergency call, but the elderly female couldn’t remember the name of the street at first. A passing motorist also called in the fire but could not name the street because the street sign was missing.
Once the address was determined, multiple engine companies from Arlington, Memphis and Shelby County raced to put out the fire.
The point of origin was in the attic, where a 220-volt wire had shorted out.
Many such wires are held in place by staples, and a wire’s insulation degrades over time and
usage. A surge could have broken through the remaining insulation, Burress said, and the area had experienced several recent electrical issues and power surges.
He found that this home’s wire had shorted back about eight inches. A wind of about 12 miles per hour helped the fire spread quickly through the attic.
He explained that a home’s breaker box does not stop surges, although it will shut off a circuit that shorts. To protect against surges, a home needs a lightning arrester or a surge arrester.
Attic fires can go undetected for a while, he said, and this one was typical: Even when the fire was high enough to break through the roof, there was no fire or smoke downstairs at all.
♦ 3242 Old Trail Cove, home of Jerry Stamson Jr.: The homeowner, 66, died in a Dec. 15 fire that originated at the couch, Burress said.
There are two hypotheses about the cause: It is possible that the resident, a smoker who had experienced previous fires, accidentally started the fire through his smoking habits or the space heater he often carried from room to room in the house could have started the fire.
Engines from three fire departments (Shelby County, Arlington and Memphis) fought the blaze.
Firefighters found the man’s body by the kitchen sink, where he might have been overcome while trying to get water to put out the fire.
“With the way that houses are built now, you’ve got a three- to five-minute window of getting out of that house before the smoke banks down,” Burress said. “Then if you have a compromised respiratory system like some elderly people do, you’re not going to last in there very long.”
