Mobile Fire-Rescue reports two fatal incidents; department to canvass neighborhood and offer smoke alarms

The Mobile City Council heard on Tuesday that Mobile Fire-Rescue responded to two recent incidents that resulted in two deaths: a residential fire on Racine Avenue and a separate technical-rescue recovery in Princeton Woods. Fire Chief (unnamed), speaking at the council meeting, extended condolences to the family of the Racine Avenue victim and said investigators are still awaiting some results on the cause of that fire. “Not yet. They're still waiting on a few results to come back, but I will get those to you as soon as we can,” the chief said when asked about cause. The department described the Princeton Woods incident as a hazardous-atmosphere event during pipeline or pipe-cleaning work. The chief said crews determined there was a displacement of oxygen in the hole, and two workers were overcome; a third self-rescued. The rescue required Mobile’s technical rescue team to enter a confined space roughly 28 feet deep to recover the victims. “We're gonna start that Thursday,” the chief said, describing an immediate neighborhood outreach plan. He said crews will canvass roughly a four-block area around the Racine Avenue house to inform residents about what happened, check smoke alarms and install functioning alarms or batteries free of charge. Captain Milhouse, identified as the department’s public information officer, said the department issued a media release early in the event to inform the public. The councilmember who requested the briefing praised the fire and police response and called the technical rescue team’s work “heroic.” At the meeting Bud McCrory, cited by a council member as a source of technical detail, told the council that the gas suspected at the Princeton Woods scene was not methane as media initially reported but likely hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas associated with sewage that can be rapidly fatal and cause lasting lung damage to survivors. McCrory described the confined-space dimensions and the difficulty of the recovery. Discussion and actions Council members asked for follow-up information on cause when lab results arrive and for confirmation of neighborhood outreach plans; the chief committed to provide results and described the planned door-to-door smoke-alarm checks and installs. No formal council action (motion or vote) on this incident was recorded in the transcript. Why it matters Two recent deaths tied to fire and confined-space hazards prompted immediate public-safety outreach and a reminder of the city’s technical-rescue capabilities. The outreach could affect residents’ immediate safety by increasing functioning smoke alarms and providing information about hazardous-atmosphere incidents. Additional details • The Racine Avenue fire remains under investigation; cause was “not yet” determined at the meeting. • The Princeton Woods incident involved an oxygen displacement in a confined space and required a technical rescue that reached a 28-foot depth. • Mobile Fire-Rescue plans to canvass and offer smoke alarm installs in an approximately four-block area around the Racine Avenue house.