Porter and New Caney firefighters were called out early this morning to house fire in the 24300 block of Evergreen Drive. The first units arrived on scene just after 1:30 AM and found heavy smoke and fire conditions inside a mobile home. Initial reports indicate that the fire started in a bedroom from a space heater left on overnight and that one resident was trapped inside.
Firefighters entered the burning home and found a male occupant unconscious in the hallway. Firefighters pulled him to safety and he was immediately treated by MCHD EMS personnel on scene, before being transported to the hospital.
The home was equipped with two smoke detectors, but neither was functioning at the time of the fire. One detector was missing its battery, and the second detector should have been powered by the home’s electrical system, but it was unplugged.
As temperatures fall, the number of residential fires and associated fatalities peaks annually during December, January and February. Space heaters account for the most deaths, accounting for nearly 40% of all home heating deaths.
The number one thing that you can do to protect your family is to insure that your home is equipped with working smoke detectors. Nationwide surveys indicate that 1/3 of all smoke detectors in home’s today will not function due to missing or dead batteries.
