ST. PAUL -- Three deaths in three days have pushed fire fatalities in Minnesota to their highest level since 2011.
Fifty-one people have died in fires in 2015 compared to 43 this time last year. With some of the most dangerous weeks ahead for residential blazes, the number of fire deaths this year is already 16 percent higher than last year’s total of 44. Only three times since 2000 have there been more than 51 fire deaths: 2011 (56), 2008 (52) and 2002 (64).
The three most recent fire deaths include a 5-year-old Ham Lake girl on Dec. 13, a 25-year-old woman in Mountain Iron on Dec. 12, a 24-year-old man on Dec. 11.
The top three causes of residential fires in Minnesota - cooking, heating and open flame - are holiday staples.
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State fire marshal Bruce West urges residents to stay in kitchen while cooking, don’t leave candles and space heaters unattended, keep matches and lighters away from children and test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
