A dear friend of mine lost her only son and his wife this weekend in a house fire.
It was so unexpected, of course. The family and everyone who knew them are still in shock. The fire started in the kitchen, perhaps a forgotten skillet on the stove. Who knows? The fire department said there were smoke detectors in the home, but for some reason, they were not working as the couple slept.
It was smoke inhalation that killed them. There is some comfort in the knowledge that it wasn’t the actual flames from the fire that caused their death.
Apparently, the fire smoldered throughout the night, as they peacefully slept. A neighbor saw the flames and called 911. Firefighters extinguished the fire and searched the home for occupants. The couple was rushed to the hospital but there
was not much that could be done for either of them except put them on life support. Tragically, the smoke had already done its damage to their respiratory systems and organs.
In a bitter-sweet end to their lives, each of their hearts stopped beating at the exact same second.
I was there as support to my friend and her family.
Losing them both at one time is profoundly devastating. Compounding the grief, are practical matters their children and loved ones are struggling with. For example, there is no one alive who knows the combination of the safe containing important documents. Also, they both listed the other as their insurance beneficiary.
You may wonder why I am sharing this story with you. Please, bear with me. And, please, take heed.
Home fires kill approximately 3,800 people in the U.S, according to the National Fire Protection Association. We know fire is deadly. However, oftentimes, it's not the flames from the fire that kill the people in a home. What kills them is what they breathe into their lungs.
If you are awake, you seesmoke. You smell smoke. Smoke detectors, if they are working properly, will warn us—whetherwe are awake or sleeping.
You cannot see radon. You cannot smell radon. Radon does not trigger alarms to wake us up. Nor does radon have an immediate impact on a person's life, as smoke inhalation does.
But radon is every bit as deadly—in fact—it’s deadlier.
Radon kills 21,000 people in the U.S. each year—which is more than five times the number of people killed by fires, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Please. Test your home for radon. And, if a problem is discovered, mitigate it. Radon mitigation is relatively inexpensive and can save real lives.
Yes, install a smoke detector in your home or test the batteries on your smoke detector. But, also, test your home for radon.
You may not be recognized for the heroics of saving the lives of loved ones.
But you will be a hero, nevertheless.
Dusty Donaldson is executive director of the Dusty Joy Foundation (LiveLung), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a focus of advancing lung cancer awareness, early detection and compassion for people impacted by lung cancer. Dusty co-authored the book “The ABCs of Lung Cancer for Patients and Advocates.” She is President of the Lung Cancer Action Network (LungCAN) and serves as a reviewer for lung cancer research proposals. She is a contributing writer for www.lungcancer.net and serves on the National Lung Cancer Roundtable’s Survivorship, Stigma & Nihilism Task Group. Prior to being diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer in 2005, Dusty was a journalist and public relations professional with undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism.
Smoke, Fire & Radon
November
by Dusty Donaldson
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