Harrison County has highest fire death rate in the state

In 2018, Harrison County had more fire deaths than any other county in Mississippi.

Last year, 79 people in Mississippi died due to fires. Six of those deaths occurred in Harrison County.

Many of the houses that people died in last year did not have smoke detectors. Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said, “We find that one of the common causes is that people may have a smoke detector in the house, but when we investigate the fire they have taken the batteries out of the smoke detector. They may have gone bad and those kind of things.”

Besides having a working smoke detector, the fire department also recommends having an escape plan set in place to get out of your home in case of a fire. You should also have a safe place to meet anyone who lives inside of your house after you get out of the fire.