Pauline Garth

Pauline Garth doesn’t remember if she left chicken cooking in her kitchen on Sept. 25 when she took a trip to a local dollar store.

What she does recall is returning to her St. Paul Street home with three grandchildren and seeing flames.

“All I saw was a blaze of fire coming out of the kitchen window,” said the 72-year-old, now living with her daughter. “It was something I hope I never experience again.”

Her feelings of loss and confusion were quenched by the kindness of Red Cross volunteers, who provided clothes and money to buy necessities, Ms. Garth said.

Staff Photo by Margaret Fenton Lt. Anthony Moore from the fire investigation division of the Chattanooga Fire Department discusses the increase in house fires typically brought on by cold weather, including wall heating units, space heaters, older electrical outlets and careless use of extension cords. An accidental fire two weeks ago destroyed this house on Wilksview Drive.

It’s a scenario that plays out often in Chattanooga.

In November alone, the Greater Chattanooga Area Red Cross has helped victims of 32 separate house fires. As the organization struggles to find funding, it’s asking area residents to donate money to help victims of residential fires, which increase as temperatures drop, said Red Cross spokeswoman Claudia Moore.

“I don’t know if we’re seeing more house fires, but we’re certainly seeing more people impacted by fires and more people seeking help,” Ms. Moore said.

Nationally, almost 40 percent of residential fire-related injuries and half of all residential fatalities occur between the beginning of November and the end of February, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

From November 2007 to February 2008, Chattanooga experienced 53 fires, according to fire department data.

Holiday fires

The number of national fires also increase on Thanksgiving Day, reaching more than 4,000 annually across the country, according to the Fire Administration. The biggest cause is unattended food, the group said.

Fire administration data show that Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia rank high on the list of fire deaths per capita. In 2005, Tennessee ranked fifth nationwide with 27.7 fire deaths per million population; Alabama was sixth with 26.5; and Georgia was 12th with 16.8, according to the fire administration. The national rate was 12.3 deaths per million.

Many factors play roles in cold-weather fires, including improper use of space heaters, furniture placed too close to wall heaters, overloading electrical outlets and putting gasoline in kerosene heaters, said Bruce Garner, spokesman for the Chattanooga Fire Department.

Heaters are “fine to use if they’re used properly,” Mr. Garner said. “If not, they can lead to serious tragedies.”

The fire department recommends keeping objects at least 3 feet from any heating object and having central heating and air systems checked before use, he said.

But not all winter fires are caused by heating problems, Mr. Garner said.

A recent fire on Wilkesview Drive was caused by a mentally disabled woman burning paper in an ashtray. It gutted a modular home near state Highway 153, leaving it covered in heaps of gray ash and half of it supported by skeletal black walls.

But many fires result from heating or electrical accidents, not from people, said Lt. Henry McElvain with the fire department’s investigative division. People sometimes leave Christmas tree lights, heaters or stoves on at night, use extension cords for an extended period of time or use damaged lights on dry Christmas tree branches, all of which can spark fires, he added.

“The thing is, nobody thinks it’s going to happen,” he said.