This has been one of the deadly years in Newberry for fire related deaths, and as this is Fire Prevention Week, officials want citizens to practice their escapes.

This year two women on Caldwell Street died when a house caught fire due to an electrical problem.

Newberry Fire Chief Joe Palmer said the home had a smoke detector, but it was not working.

“Never sleep in a place without a functioning smoke detector,“ warns Palmer.

Members of the Newberry station will go to any home in the city limits to do a home safety inspection that includes checking smoke detectors.

Second, occupants need to have a way out of their house if it catches on fire. Fire codes state that rooms where people sleep are required to have two ways out. This includes windows and doors.

“Once we are out what do we do? This is the next question,“ said Palmer, adding that the residents need to have a meeting place.

Finally, families are encouraged to practice their escape plan.

“It is not enough just to have a home fire escape plan in place; it is vital that everyone living in the home practice the plan,“ said Judy Comoletti, with the public education for the National Fire Protection Association. “You can have as little as two minutes to get out when fire strikes.“

In the past year, the city has responded to 54 fires in homes.

“That is more than one fire a week in a house in Newberry,“ said Palmer.

The chief adds that the number one cause of fires in houses is in the kitchen.

He said one saving device is called a Range Queen. This is a device that looks like a can of food and sticks to the exhaust hood of a stove. If the can get hot, it drops fire suppressions chemicals.

In the past few years, Palmer said the devices were installed in homes at Nance Forest and in several cases have prevented fires.

Palmer also warns that residents should always have a licensed electrician to do work in their home.

For those wanting to take safety to the next step, ideas are available at www.ready.gov.

Also, local firefighters have brochures available, are willing to talk to groups and do home inspections. For more information contact the city fire department at 321-1030.

Firefighters across the county will also be visiting local schools this week as they celebrate Fire Prevention Week.

Some new fire related discussion over the next year will include the state legislature discussing forcing older commercial building to install sprinkler systems.

Newberry enforced laws in 1995 stating all commercial businesses in the city install sprinklers. This means most of the large building in the Wilson Road area have sprinklers. The Opera House also has them, but the downtown Community Building does not.

City officials also require that rental property owners must register with them, but city officials could take talks to the next level and require the rental properties to be inspected. State laws already require that rental owners provide smoke detectors for homes, but the tenants must maintain them.