January 19, 2001

Family escapes fire thanks to working smoke detector

       Awakened by the shrieking blast of a smoke detector, Sonja Smith found her mobile home in flames late Sunday night. The fire, started by a tipped-over candle, quickly spread, but Smith had enough time to evacuate her two children to safety. Despite the fire department’s efforts, the trailer home was destroyed. But aside from some smoke inhalation, Smith and her children were safe and uninjured. The family is staying with relatives, and the mobile home was insured. Without a working smoke detector, the outcome could have been horrific. The residents might have suffocated in their sleep from the choking smoke, never having a chance to escape.  “That’s truly the only reason those three people are alive today, because of that smoke detector,” said Division Chief Eric Brown of the White River Township Fire Department.  Nationwide, fire kills an average of 5,030 people a year.  In three-fifths of fatal house fires, there were no smoke detectors or they were inoperable.  Installing a smoke detector greatly reduces your risk of being killed or severely burned in a fire. But it can’t spare your life if the batteries are dead or removed.  To ensure that all trailer parks in White River Township are protected, firefighters will distribute smoke detectors to mobile home residents on Friday.  Firefighters hope that this week’s blaze will serve as a “reality check” that mobile homes, because of their construction, can go up in flames much faster than other types of buildings — within six to seven minutes, Brown said.  Not only will WRT firefighters provide free detectors and replacement batteries, they will also install or test the devices for residents.  Losing a home is a terrible setback for any family. But a dwelling and possessions can be replaced; lives cannot. We urge all Johnson County residents to make sure their homes have working smoke detectors.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 

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