West Virginia fire commission has failed for 50 years to make a plan to address high fire death rate

By HENRY CULVYHOUSE/Mountain State Spotlight Updated 5:42 PM MESZ, August 10, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit West Virginia is one of the deadliest states for house fires, killing an average of 32 people per year between 2009 and 2023. An audit of the State Fire Commission in December of 2025 noted that the commission hadn’t compiled a state-mandated plan to prevent these deaths. Testifying before a Government Organization Committee in December, State Fire Marshal, Ken Tyree Jr. said that he did not realize his agency was supposed to produce one comprehensive plan before the recent audit. He said his office is drafting the document now and plans to finish it in the Fall of 2026. When the State Fire Commission was created in 1976, it was charged with developing a plan for fire prevention and control, which includes assessing manpower needs, location of training centers, location of water sources and public education and information needs. “It would be beneficial to develop a plan in compliance with statute that assesses various fire protection needs throughout the state and identify possible solutions to prevalent problems,” auditors wrote in 2025. This month, Tyree said he did not know why the commission hadn’t produced a report for all this time. “Current leadership of the State Fire Commission and State Fire Marshal’s Office recognize that a fragmented approach is unacceptable. In the past, policy elements existed across several agency documents, manuals, and regional programs,” he said. Deadly flooding in West Virginia finds prevention plans unaddressed 3 MIN READ WVU Health leadership failed to address painkiller thefts as opioids devastated West Virginia 3 MIN READ 28 National Guard deploys as flash floods in West Virginia inundate homes and businesses 3 MIN READ 28 However the past Fire Marshal also agreed to create a plan and address underlying causes behind fatal fires, most of which are residential. In 21 of the years between 2000 and 2023, West Virginia ranked in the top 10 nationally for fires deaths at double the national average. But the state’s record on fire deaths was troubling long before that. In 2000, the Legislative Auditor’s Office found the state ranked among the deadliest in the country. At the time, they noted the commission didn’t utilize its public information officer, engaged in little public education outside of Kanawha County, where it is headquartered, and hadn’t written a comprehensive plan. At that time, auditors also noted several factors driving the high fire death rate, such as poverty causing people to use alternative forms of heat, high smoking rates, an elderly population and a prevalence of old houses and manufactured homes. “A Fire Protection and Control plan is needed to address the State’s high fire death rate,” auditors concluded. “Agreed,” wrote Sterling Lewis Jr., the State Fire Marshal at that time. Between 2000 and 2003, 150 West Virginians died in residential fires. In 2004, auditors checked in on the State Fire Commission. They noted that the public information officer had additional responsibilities which detracted from her public information duties. They recommended that the fire commission should devote greater attention to statistical analysis as a tool to reduce the state’s high fire death rate. While the commission had made strides on public education and smoke detector distribution, fire commissioners still hadn’t written a plan. Auditors noted, “It is still the statutory responsibility of the Fire Commission to reduce the high fire death rate in West Virginia.” Between 2004 and 2012, West Virginia remained in the top 10 states for fire deaths. Then in 2012, auditors released another report. The conclusions were the same. West Virginia was still one of the deadliest states for fires, and the commission still hadn’t written a plan. Fifty-three West Virginians died in residential fires that year, making the state the most deadly for fires in the nation. Responding to the audit, Lewis wrote, “I found it to be very helpful in improving our ability in being able to go forward to serve the citizens of West Virginia.” However, the Fire Commission produced no plan that year. He said he can’t answer why his predecessors had not compiled a fire plan when these issues were pointed out to them. Many of the causes of fires today have largely remained the same as in 2000. Tyree said the tactics have evolved over the years to target areas with high fire risk, called “hot spots,” focusing local outreach in high-risk demographic areas. He said his office is currently working on the fire plan that employs these tactics, identifies areas with inoperable fire hydrants or none at all, focuses on recruitment issues for volunteer fire stations and establishes quarterly metrics to share with the commission and lawmakers. “The document is currently undergoing final internal review, will be submitted to the legislative oversight committee and published for public review ahead of the Fall 2026 legislative interim sessions,” he said. This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.