RACINE, Wis. — At least one person has died after a fire at a home with hoarding-like conditions in Racine.
64-year-old Darrell Oates lived in the first floor of the two-story multifamily home and died as a result of the fire.
A total of 26 firefighters from the Racine Fire Department responded to Prospect and MLK Drive at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. According to TMJ4 News, fire department crews encountered waist-high piles of debris throughout the first floor and found no smoke alarms inside the home. Crews found Oates, who lived alone, dead inside the residence. The upstairs tenant was not home during the fire.
The Racine Fire Department told TMJ4 they are reminding the public about the danger of hoarding large amounts of items inside your home.
“This creates a large safety hazard due to the increased potential fire load inside the residence and creates a clear and present danger to responders attempting to access and search and rescue,” the fire department said Wednesday. “Also, a reminder that working smoke alarms save more lives than firefighters ever will.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but no foul play is expected.
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