Minnesota fire deaths increased in 2011

Fire deaths in Minnesota spiked in 2011, according to preliminary figures from the State Fire Marshal.

There were 51 people who died from fires in 2011, including two from Goodhue County. A 75-year-old man died in an October fire, the cause of which was undetermined. In September, a 61-year-old was killed after an unattended candle started a fire in his apartment.

The increase in 2011 was an anomaly, the fire marshal’s office said. Fire fatalities had been decreasing consistently since the 1980s.

“Continuing to reduce fire fatalities will require every Minnesotan to understand two things: how to prevent fires and how to escape them,” State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl said. “We must also accept the fact that no one is immune to the danger.”

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