It’s been a very deadly month for kupuna in house fires, with the fourth such fatality occurring on Wednesday in Kaimuki. A man, 79, found unconscious by firefighters, died soon after being rushed to a hospital. On March 24, a 72-year-old man was rescued from a burning home in Liliha, but did not survive. Just five days earlier, fire destroyed a home on Manoa Road: an elderly man died in the fire, while his sister succumbed in a hospital days later. These tragedies also recall Oahu’s first fire death of the year: firefighter Jeffrey Fiala, 25, who died battling a McCully house blaze on Jan. 6.

Take the time, today, to check that fire alarms are working, and to make a safety exit plan with household members, especially kupuna.