JACKSON - Holmes County fire coordinator Clinton Cobbins says last week's struggle to rescue seven children from a smoldering trailer in Tchula has given him a new sense of urgency in preaching fire prevention.
In the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 19 Cobbins used CPR to revive a 4-month-old infant - the only child that showed signs of life. He kept her breathing until an ambulance arrived.
Still, Cobbins said memories of the six lifeless bodies continue to haunt him.
"I've never, out of my 20 years, seen that many deaths at one time," said Cobbins, a firefighter for two decades.
"It's one of those situations where there's only just so much you can do," Cobbins said. "We got there and we dealt with what we had."
Authorities said it appeared the fire spread from an unattended candle while the children, who were home alone, slept.
The surviving infant recovered at a Jackson hospital and was released into the custody of the Department of Human Services, said the agency's spokeswoman Pamela Confer.
Investigators were scheduled to meet Monday with District Attorney James Powell. Among other questions, authorities have said they want to know why the children were left alone and why there was no electricity to the trailer.
"It was so unfortunate, just prior to that incident, that Friday … I did a fire prevention class at a school with K through 3rd graders," Cobbins said.
Cobbins said a lack of fire safety education is a major factor contributing to fire deaths. He regularly discusses fire safety issues, including candles, at area schools.
Since the Oct. 19 fire, Cobbins said he's expanding beyond simple education in his effort to keep people alive. He's now asking volunteer firefighters to help raise funds to purchase and install smoke detectors at homes around Holmes County, the poorest in the state.
The median household income in the county is $17,031, according to census figures.
Cobbins said one donor has already pledged $5,000 to the cause. That unidentified donor is challenging businesses to do the same, he said.
Smoke detectors, which cost between $5 and $10, will be distributed to applicants around the county through local fire departments, Cobbins said.
Fire safety education and improved fire service in rural areas has helped reduce the number of fire-related deaths around Mississippi, said state Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Millard Mackey.
Legislation passed in 1988 helped many counties improve their fire insurance ratings by tying funding to the establishment of a county fire coordinator position and designating a member of each sheriff's department as a fire investigator, Mackey said.
In 1988, there were about 220 fire departments in Mississippi, he said. Now there are 756.
More recent legislation has helped rural fire departments purchase fire trucks, he said.
Last year, 82 Mississippi residents died in fires, according state Department of Health statistics. That's about a third fewer deaths than in 1995, when 123 fire deaths were reported.
Still, Mississippi's fire death rate remains among the highest in the nation, Mackey said.
"There's more being done and more money being spent and it's showing a reduction in deaths," Mackey said. "We would like to see it move towards zero fires, period."
It's not only important to have a smoke detector, but also to make sure it works and change the battery at least once a year, Mackey said.
Mackey said he's never had to investigate a fire death where there was a working smoke detector in the house. Last week's fatal fire in Tchula was just one of many where a fire detector was installed but did not work, he said.
Mackey said practicing emergency fire evacuation plans and never re-entering a burning home were other keys to staying alive in case of a fire.
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