Fort Wayne Fire Department Chief Deputy Adam O'Connor says accidental house fires are normally caused by two things during the holiday season.
One, people start using alternative heat sources like kerosene or electric heaters.
Two, an increase in what he calls “holiday cheer.” That could look like leaving out a lit cigarette or forgetting to turn off a candle.
A fort wayne man is dead following an accidental fire in his living room.
Its a tragedy the fort wayne fire department says happens during the holiday season.which is a hot spot for house fires.
Fox 55's nico pennis spoke with a neighbor who watched it unfold sunday.
A man is dead after a house fire on oneida street sunday afternoon.
The fort wayne fire department says this was one of 3 major fires that occurred recently.
They say the holiday season is infamous for cases like these.neighbor sabrina queen witnessed the fire.
Queen "you could see the smoke coming out from the back firefighters going inside.
It was really concerning because i didn't know if someone was in there."when firefighters arrived at 2:30 they found 55- year-old michael b.
Latourette in his living room.
Queen "he got trapped in the fire and there was nothing they could do."
The allen county coroner's office said latourrete later died of smoke inhalation and thermal burns.
Queen "i could see the flames through the downstairs, i would assume the living room window, and then you could see the flames go up to the second floor."fort wayne fire deputy chief adam o'connor says these fires are common.
O'connor "every year at this time we see an uptick in what we would call natural fires."he says they're usually caused by one of two things.
One, people using alternative heat sources like kerosene or electric heaters.
And two, an increase in what he calls "holiday cheer."
That could look like leaving out a lit cigarette or forgetting to turn off a candle.o'connor "we wanna make sure that if you are drinking that you don't put something in the oven and then fall asleep on the couch because that leads to fires every year, because those tater tots do eventually catch fire."o'connor says avoiding these mistakes could save your life this holiday season.
The fort wayne fire department is still investigating the exact cause of the fire on oneida street.
In fort wayne i'm nico pennisi fox 55 news.
The fort wayne fire department says one thing that can help is making sure you have a working smoke detector.
For details on how to receive a free smoke detector, visit our website at wfft dot