Thirteen people have died in fires in just the first half of 2024, according to data from New Hampshire’s fire marshal. That’s more fire-related deaths than in all of 2023, or in all of 2022.
The eleven fires that caused fatalities spanned almost every county in the state.
The youngest person who died was 36; the oldest were two people who died together in Dover earlier this June, at 93.
Nearly three quarters of the deaths this year occurred in buildings without working smoke alarms or without an adequate number of smoke alarms.
Sean Toomey, New Hampshire’s fire marshal, said the increase in deaths has been disturbing.
“The most alarming trend is the lack of smoke alarms,” he said. “When people are sleeping, the only way they're going to wake up is having a working smoke alarm.”
Toomey said smoke alarms should be placed in every bedroom, outside of every sleeping area, and on every level of a home. Alarms should be replaced after 10 years and should have their batteries changed twice a year.
Having interconnected alarms is best, officials say, and wireless ones are acceptable. If smoke alarms are hard-wired, they should have back-up batteries.
Households should test smoke alarms monthly to make sure they are working properly.
Most of the deadly fires in 2024 occurred during the daytime, which is a shift from the trend in 2022 and 2023, when most occurred in the early hours of the morning.
