GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids firefighters are sending a warning to families following the deadly New York City apartment fire, and giving some important tips to those who live in apartment buildings.
A spokesperson for the department says while the cause of the NYC fire was a faulty space heater, the resident left and did not close the door, which caused the fire to spread.
The department also said investigators found that the door was wedged open to one of the stairways, which prevented people from being able to leave.
However, if the door was closed, people would have had more time to escape before the flames and smoke could spread.
"We need people to understand when you have a fire, when you're leaving that space, shut that door, make sure it's latched and get out," said Lt. William Smith with the Grand Rapids Fire Department. "But basically, the fundamental: Get out when those notification devices are going on."
Smith said that residents don't always evacuate upon hearing fire alarms, thinking that the alarms are tests or malfunctioning. He said that it is important to evacuate the building if the fire alarm goes off.
"It happens all the time. We have people not responding adequately here in the city of Grand Rapids when their fire alarm system is notifying them of an issue," Smith said. "It may be something benign, it may be something really big that's going to put you in harm's way, you don't know. Let us help you. You get out of the building, we'll come and do the investigation."
Smith said that the fire department sometimes arrives to multifamily or multistory buildings to see that the building's fire alarm is going off, but no one is evacuated.
"Don't be complacent," he said. "You know, when the firefighters when our alarms go off, we react immediately. That's what we want you to do. Don't be complacent when your fire alarm sounds."
For anyone using space heaters, you are reminded to keep flammable objects at least three feet away from them and to plug space heaters directly into an outlet instead of using an extension cord. Smith also said homeowners should take note of their circuit breakers when using alternative heat sources.
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