Assistant Fire Chief Hobson: ‘That smoke detector going off saved her life today’
January 22, 2020
A Zanesville woman napping on her couch Wednesday morning was awoken to the sound of smoke detectors alerting her to a fire that had started inside the house.
Given enough warning, the woman was able to exit her 727 Spangler Dr. house with the family dog before firefighters arrived just before 11 a.m.
According to Assistant Fire Chief Doug Hobson, the fire began in an upstairs bedroom and was electrical in nature.
Firefighters were able to quickly knock the flames down, but the home sustained additional damage from smoke, heat and water.
“A good bit of damage from us just trying to knock the fire down,” said Hobson.
Hobson said the smoke detector played a vital role during the fire since the woman’s husband and granddaughter were both at work when the fire started.
“She was home asleep on the couch and the smoke detector woke her up,” said Hobson. “Her husband recently just got the smoke detector from a safety day over in Cambridge. She had it in the living room with her. That smoke detector going off saved her life today.”
The American Red Cross was called to assist the family since their home is currently uninhabitable.
Vanessa • Jan 22, 2020 at 5:53 pm
I am happy to read a story about a structure fire that doesn’t end with the loss of life due to no working smoke detectors. People think it won’t happen to them or that they will be woke up by the smell of smoke and be able to escape in time. I live in Texas and around these parts, I feel like there isn’t enough being done to educate people about fires and the importance of working smoke detectors. It could be the difference between life and death. Thousands of people around this country die as a result of fires where working smoke detectors could have made a difference and changed the outcome. My Daddy was a Fire Marshal for 30 years and he not only taught me and my brother about fire safety and smoke detectors but he also would show us pictures of deceased individuals who died in a fire. That will make ya realize just how serious and real it is. There is nothing worse than the smell of burnt flesh and fire fighters having to recover burnt bodies from a fire that they fought to put out. It’s awful. So thank you for this story. I hope that others will take the time to read stories like this so that just maybe it will make a difference.