Harrison County Fire Rescue stressed fire safety after three structure fires in one day

Harrison County Fire Rescue responded to three structure fires in a 24-hour period leading up to New Year’s Eve.

One person was burned in the first fire and flown to Mobile for further care.

The second fire started from a heater in a mobile home, and the cause of the third is unknown as the family was not home. The house was destroyed in the fire.

Whether these homes had working fire alarms is unknown right now.

Fire Chief Pat Sullivan says the cause of the last fire is under investigation and each of these fires show just how quickly a house fire can start and progress.

“No one should ever think that it cannot happen to them because it certainly can. If you have a heating system in your home, if you have a stove in your home, if you’re burning candles in your homes if you’re using your dryer in your home, all of those are potential sources of fire,” he said. “Here we are at the new year, maybe it’s a good time if you haven’t done it at the time change, this is a good time to check your smoke detectors. Make sure they work, make sure the batteries are functioning, or just go ahead and change them if they’ve been in there a while.”

Chief Sullivan says prevention is the best way to avoid fires.

Check smoke alarms, never leave a stove unattended, and check heating elements before firing them up for the season.