A house fire in Plainville last Friday claimed the life of a local resident, with smoking materials and medical oxygen equipment identified as likely contributors. The Plainville Fire Department, supported by neighboring departments, responded to the blaze at 61 School St. where they found the home heavily engulfed in flames, shortly after which they located and pronounced the sole occupant, 68-year-old Mark Beyersdorfer, deceased inside the charred remnants of what once was his dwelling.
According to a statement by local fire and law enforcement officials, the incident marked the fifth time this year that smoking materials and oxygen equipment have been discovered at the scene of deadly fires in the state, with four happening within recent weeks, Chief Skinner from the Plainville Fire Department emphasized the risk of smoking around medical oxygen, "Smoking is the leading cause of fatal fires in Massachusetts and across the country," he said, adding, "there’s no truly safe way to smoke, and that smoking around home oxygen is especially dangerous."
Investigations into the Plainville fire's origin and cause are ongoing, involving the Plainville Fire Department, Plainville Police Department, State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office, and State Police attached to the Norfolk District Attorney's office; earlier fires in Chicopee, Greenfield, Leominster, and Wakefield have also led to investigators singling out smoking materials and home oxygen as significant factors contributing to the tragedies.
In the past five years, statistics have cast a somber light on the lethal blend of smoking and home oxygen in Massachusetts, resulting in six fatalities and several severe injuries, "Friday's tragic fire was the fifth time this year that we identified smoking materials and medical oxygen equipment at the scene of a fatal fire," State Fire Marshal Davine reported, with a kind of weary resignation that comes when tragedy seems both preventable and repetitive, a sentiment echoed throughout the firefighting community. For those needing guidance, the Department of Fire Services provides educational pamphlets aimed at helping oxygen users stay safe – available for download or in bulk through the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse.
