Hartford Fire Department sees increase in fire reports year-over-year; urges safety measures

HARTFORD, Conn — With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to spend more time at home, fire departments around the country have been responding to an increase in house fires.

Hartford Fire Chief Reginald Freeman said that trend applies to the Capital City, where there has been an increase in fire reports year over year. "In 2019, we responded to 539 fires in the city, and in COVID 2020 that jumped up 200 to 739 fires," said Chief Freeman.

Chief Freeman also highlighted the pandemic's impact on those numbers. "COVID-19 has added an additional element that municipal fire departments aren't really used to, and that's everyone being at home all the time. For us at the Hartford Fire Department, out of the 29,265 calls for service last year, just over 21,000 were EMS calls," said the chief.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking, heating, and electrical equipment are among the leading causes of home fires year-round.

"For us, the reasons why we're being called remain the same, and our data and stats are consistent with the U.S. Fire Administration, which are the three main causes of fire. That is food unattended, that is cooking on the stove, that is electrical fires, and also open flames and improperly discarded smoking materials," said Chief Freeman.

The Hartford Fire Department will continue its mission to prevent those fires by educating the public.

"Our special services unit, out of our 124,000 citizens here in the city of Hartford, they've actually reached out and touched 114,000 back in 2019," said the chief.

Firefighters will also knock on the doors of people in the neighborhood after a fire and give them prevention educational materials.

The National Fire Protection Association is reminding people that smoke alarms should be located on every level of your home, in each bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. You should also test them monthly to make sure they’re working.