Austin Daily Herald and the Associated Press

ST. PAUL — Fifty-seven people — including two in Austin — died last year in fires in Minnesota, the highest number of fire fatalities since 2002.

The Department of Public Safety’s State Fire Marshal Division released the final 2015 numbers Monday along with the cause of the fatal fires.

The 57 deaths in 2015 were a nearly 30 percent increase over the 44 fatalities in both 2014 and 2013.

“This increase is heartbreaking because most of these deaths were preventable,” State Fire Marshal Bruce West said in a press release. “We all need to be part of the solution. We all need to take fire prevention seriously. You may think a fire could never happen to you or your family, but it can — and it can be deadly.”

West asked Minnesotans to help drive those numbers back down by following basic fire prevention tips in their homes.

In Austin, Jorge Abeyta, 43, died on Thanksgiving, and Sherry Jo Fisher, 53, died on Christmas. While the final state report did not list the cause of the two Austin fatal fires, Austin Fire Chief Jim McCoy previously confirmed Abeyta died of smoke inhalation in the Nov. 26, 2015, fire in a garage on the 1900 block of Oakland Avenue East.

Officials also said Fisher likely died of smoke inhalation in the Dec. 25, 2015, fire at a home in the 2100 block of 16th Street Southeast.

Across the state, nine deaths were attributed to careless smoking, while unattended cooking was cited in four fatalities. The fire’s cause was undetermined in 24 deaths. The remaining were due to arson or suicide.

The 57 deaths in 2015 represent a nearly 30 percent increase over fire fatalities in both 2014 and 2013.

Sixty-four people died in fires in Minnesota in 2002.

The two 2015 deaths were Austin’s first fire-related deaths since one in 2004.

“Zero would be the preferable number, and we try to accomplish that through training and education,” Austin firefighter Hans Gilbert told the Herald early this year.

Gilbert said the Austin Fire Department does a good job of getting out in the community to talk about fire safety.

“We have open houses, talk fire safety in the schools,” Gilbert said. “We have a smoke alarm program in the city.”

The smoke alarm program is a grant for residents of Austin, Austin Township and Lansing Township to get free smoke alarms and batteries, but they must be installed by the fire department to make sure they get put in the right places correctly and are being used, Gilbert said.