Baytown TX fire victims: do you know enough about smoke inhalation?

When most people hear about a Baytown, Texas fire, their first question may be, “was anyone hurt?”  By “hurt”, people often mean “burned”.  Not everyone knows that the number one cause of death in a fire is smoke inhalation.  Sadly, as Houston Personal Injury Lawyers, we know more about fire deaths than most people.

 

There are several ways that smoke inhalation can cause death for Baytown residents:

• Lack of oxygen, or asphyxiation.  If you are trapped indoors when a fire happens, the fire can use up all of the oxygen in your room.  Without oxygen, you can die. 
• Chemical irritation.  Sometimes smoke can carry chemical irritants, particles that can hurt your skin, the lining of your nose, or your lungs if inhaled.  The irritation can lead to swelling, breathing difficulty and airway collapse.
• Chemical asphyxiation.  Certain chemical compounds in smoke can interfere with your body’s ability to use oxygen.  If your body cannot get the oxygen it needs, you can die.  Examples of these chemicals include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide.

 

When fire victims are killed by smoke inhalation, medical exams often find that the number one cause of death is carbon monoxide poisoning.  Carbon monoxide is deadly because when inhaled it binds very strongly to the hemoglobin in your blood, and is not released.  It takes up the space hemoglobin needs to carry oxygen to your cells.  If you inhale enough carbon monoxide in a fire or gas leak, you will die.

 

Baytown fire victims, if you need help with a fire or explosion case please contact our aggressive, experienced fire accident attorneys based in Houston.