West Virginia is one of the deadliest states for house fires, killing an average of 32 people per year between 2009 and 2023. “Current leadership of the State Fire Commission and State Fire Marshal’s Office recognize that a fragmented approach is unacceptable. “A Fire Protection and Control plan is needed to address the State’s high fire death rate,” auditors concluded. West Virginia was still one of the deadliest states for fires, and the commission still hadn’t written a plan. Fifty-three West Virginians died in residential fires that year, making the state the most deadly for fires in the nation.