November 7, 1989

Smoke alarm saves two from fire

       Smoke detectors and fire safety programs are being credited with saving two lives in a trailer fire Sunday morning in White River Township.  The fire destroyed a mobile home at Lot 570 in Friendly Village, on the south side of County Line Road.  Patricia Carter, 54, and her 29 year old daughter, Brenda, were asleep when the fire broke out around 3:25 a.m., and were awakened by smoke detectors.  Brenda’s son, 7 year old Justin, also lives with them but was away for the weekend.

         Pat McDaniel of the White River Township Volunteer Fire Department said Patricia and Brenda Carter had fallen asleep in the living room while watching television.  “The smoke alarms woke them up,” McDaniel said.  “They saw the smoke, called the fire department and got out.  The smoke detectors definitely saved their lives.”  Educational programs marking Fire Prevention Week in October also were a factor, McDaniel said.  White River firefighters, like others throughout the county, had gone to schools in the area and handed out literature on fire safety.  One of the things they encouraged residents to do was to check the batteries in their smoke alarms.

         “I asked if that had contributed, and they said, ‘Oh, yes,’” McDaniel said.  “They had gotten literature from the school and checked their batteries.”  McDaniel said if the women had been in their bedrooms rather than in the living room, they may not have gotten out in time.  “There was just so much smoke by the time they would have come by the bathroom and hit the hallway, they wouldn’t have been able to get out,” she said.  The cause of the fire was traced to an electrical short in a medicine cabinet in the bathroom, McDaniel said.  She said the fire was reported at 3:25 a.m.  Firefighters arrived at 3:32 and brought the fire under control by 3:50.  They were at the scene until 5:43.

         McDaniel said the mobile home, a 1971 model, was a total loss.  She estimated damage at $5,000 to the mobile home and $4,000 to its contents.  “There was so much smoke and heat damage inside that they won’t be able to save much,” McDaniel said.  McDaniel also is executive director of the Johnson County Chapter of the American Red Cross.  The agency is preparing to assist the Carters with replacing their possessions and will do so as soon as family members determine what can be saved and what was lost in the fire.
 
 

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