**UPDATE: The Rapid City Fire Department released details of its early investigation Wednesday afternoon. The four victims are siblings Thomas Rosado, 9, Dustin Rosado, 5, Marquez Hawkwing, 3, and grandmother Marcia Rock, 51. The investigation is still ongoing, but the fire department has ruled out natural gas or electrical problems as the cause of the fire.
A deadly fire Tuesday night in Rapid City killed four people, three of which were children. Fire crews responded just minutes after it was reported and found visible flames. The cause of the fire is now under investigation. As SDPB’s Cassie Bartlett reports, the tragedy is a way to remind others to have fire precautions in place.
Rapid City Fire Chief Mike Maltaverne says Rapid City had 77 building fires in Rapid City last year, the majority of which occurred in residential buildings. Maltaverne says having a fatal fire is rare—the last one was in 2010. He says after fires like this, the fire department reminds people to make sure their fire protection plans are up to code.
“You should have at least two working smoke detectors on each level of your home and that you test them regularly, and that you practice, if you have children in your home, you talk about that smoke detector, you test it and let them know what it sounds like. You talk about two ways out of every room in your home, you have an evacuation plan, you have a meeting place in front of the home. It doesn’t matter if you’re in an apartment or a house, that those things are something you take serious,” Maltaverne says.
Maltaverne says it’s a tragedy to lose members of the community, but he hopes it will encourage others to take precautions. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Cassie Bartlett.