A Twentynine Palms man and his three young children suffered smoke inhalation from a fire in their home last night. According to Twentynine Palms Fire Chief Jim Thompson, about 9 p.m. the father had gone outside to lock his vehicle, and while he was outside, one of his children picked up a burning candle and brought into a bedroom and set it on a plastic table. The table, and the toys on it, caught fire, filling the home with toxic smoke.
When the father came back inside, he discovered the fire, and evacuated his three young children, all under the age of five. Thompson said the man went back into the home with a garden hose in a dangerous attempt to put out the fire, while a neighbor called 911 at 9:17. When fire fighters from Twentynine Palms and the Combat Center arrived at the home in the 74600 block of Baseline Road, the man and his three children, were waiting outside, all suffering from smoke inhalation.
The victims were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation by Morongo Basin Ambulance, and then taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center. The home, a rental dwelling, did not have a working smoke alarm at the time of the fire. California law requires all rental dwellings to have working smoke alarms. Thompson estimated damage to the home and contents at $5,000.
Chief Thompson stressed that children should never be left alone with a burning candle. Keep matches and lighters up high and out of children’s reach, in a locked cabinet. He added that two out of three fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or where the alarms are not working. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly. And finally, Thompson was adamant about getting everyone out safely. “If a fire occurs in your home, GET OUT and STAY OUT.”
