Hospital strategist writes book of tips for surviving fire

Candace Quinn learned a lot about fire safety while growing up in a family of firefighters.

She learned the most after escaping from her burning home in 2002.

Quinn, chief strategist for Southeast Missouri Hospital, wrote a 90-page book, "I Survived a House Fire ... I Wish My Stuff Had," filled with 200 tips for homeowners.

This year, Jackson firefighters responded to 22 residential fires in which two people were injured. Last year, they battled 21 home fires, also with two people injured.

Jackson fire chief Jason Mouser said fires most often start in the kitchen. Jackson firefighters are visiting every kindergarten class in Jackson's public and parochial schools to teach fire safety.

Cape Girardeau fire marshal Mike Morgan said his department is delivering fire drill pop quizzes to teachers. In 2007, his department responded to fires at 37 homes, 14 apartments and five at other residential sites, such as campers and trailers. The good news, he said, "is no one was injured and no one died."

Quinn grew up in northern Illinois, in Byron, where her brother, Chris Millard, is deputy chief of the area fire protection district. His visits to her home always include some fire safety checks. No amount of planning would have saved Quinn's Massachusetts home from the failure of faulty wiring hidden in a porch ceiling.

"There was nothing left to look at, so they were never able to determine if a critter got inside that roof, but it was a slow, smoldering fire," she said.

Her book blends a vivid account of how her family escaped the flames, with helpful tips on everything from insurance to reconstruction and easy-to-use worksheets.

She learned was about the effects of fire — hers was so hot, the next-door neighbors' new vinyl windows melted — and the secondary devastation of water.

"When smoke and water combine, anything that combination penetrates is history," she said.

She and her husband, Michael, quickly found they were underinsured. They eventually agreed losses could have been much worse, she said.

Quinn, who commutes to Cape Girardeau and spends 75 percent of her time in Southeast Missouri, said she decided to write the book while building a new home in McLean, Va. She used information from the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association. She had firefighters and professional editors go over the book.

"I've got so much invested in this book, I'll have to sell 10,000 just to break even," she said, laughing.

But it's a worthy cause, she said, because it could help save a life.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 1.6 million home fires in 2007 caused more than $14 billion in damage and the deaths of 3,430 people; 17,675 people were injured.

"Our fire record is one of the worst in the industrial world," she said. "Eighty-four percent of fires were in single-family residences. ... You don't have to go find to find a family touched by it."

"I Survived a House Fire ... I Wish My Stuff Had" is available at www.isurvivedahousefire.com.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

On the Net

u.s. fire administration: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov