House Fire Kills N. Phila. Man
By Damon C. Williams, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Daily News
Dec. 28–Like many Philadelphians, Alexander Screen was using a kerosene heater to warm his house this winter.
Early yesterday, Screen, a corrections officer at Graterford Prison who neighbors say was “an all-around good guy,” died after a fire ripped through his two-story rowhouse on Harold Street near 12th, in North Philadelphia.
The fire was blamed on the kerosene heater. The house had no working smoke alarms, fire officials said.
Screen’s death was the city’s 53rd by fire this year, a figure that fire officials said could have been lower if smoke detectors had been in use.
“People put space heaters, kerosene heaters and electric heaters too close to combustibles,” said Battalion Chief Thomas Donovan of the fire-prevention division.
“We frequently find that to be the cause [of many home fires]. People put space heaters too close to their beds or sofas, and they don’t have working smoke alarms.
“Whatever [fire-causing] mistake you make can be corrected with a smoke alarm,” Donovan added. “People just aren’t interested in [smoke alarms]. It’s a shame.”
To friends and family, Alexander was doing what many city residents do to keep warm in light of rising utility costs. They said he will be missed.
“He was a good, hard-working man,” said Screen’s teary-eyed fiance, Tabitha Leonard, 33. “He had three children, including my stepdaughter.”
“I just seen him yesterday,” said Gladys Jones, who has lived on Screen’s block since 1980.
“He’s going to be missed,” she said. “He was a real nice person, and very respectful.”
Donovan said Philadelphia leads all major cities by “leaps and bounds” in the number of fire deaths per year.
“Boston has three or four fire deaths a year, and other cities with large populations are in the 20s,” he said.
According to Donovan, Philly’s numbers would be dramatically reduced if people paid attention to commercials, alerts and Fire Department initiatives urging them to get alarms.
“We can’t correct the problem; only [residents] can,” he said. “… fire deaths are not going down. We need to do a lot better.
“Communities are not getting the message that they need alarms. The fire commissioner is passionate about this, but people are not paying attention to it.”
Donovan said working fire alarms are required on every floor, and at a minimum, one should be placed close to sleeping quarters.
“If you only have one alarm, it’s best [that it is] in the hallway where you sleep,” Donovan said. “They can be purchased as cheaply as $5.”
Donovan also said the Fire Department provides free smoke alarms to poor and needy families. Requests for a free smoke alarm can be made by calling the fire prevention division at 215- 686-1176.
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Copyright (c) 2005, Philadelphia Daily News
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