BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. — On Sunday, Northeast Guilford Firefighters went door-to-door, checking smoke detectors and sharing fire safety education in Browns Summit on Locus Grove Drive where three family members died in a house fire.
Improperly discarded smoking materials are blamed for the house fire on September 6 that sent three people to the hospital where they eventually died, according to the Northeast Guilford Fire Department.
Family members told WFMY News 2 the three victims - Burlie Graves, Yvonne Haas, and Alvis Brown - had a loving extended family. Haas was described by a family member as the "matriarch of the family who opened her arms and her home to anyone."
Under the Sunday afternoon heat, a crew of focused firefighters organized themselves to canvas roughly 30 homes in the neighborhood, with the mission of preventing future deaths in an area with a history of tragic fires.
"Just this one little neighborhood here in Browns Summit, since the late 1970s, we have had approximately 10 fire fatalities just within two-tenths of a mile radius," said Steve Apple, Fire Chief at Northeast Guilford Fire Department.
Chief Apple said the house that caught ablaze did have working smoke detectors.
"Smoke detectors have a 10-year life, and after 10 years, they need to be replaced," the chief said, adding they should still be checked monthly.
Chief Apple cautioned residents to not get confused between carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, which are typically separate devices but both important for prevention.
Homeowners should install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area on every level of the home, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
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