Cowen: Smoke detectors save lives of three Madison County children

by Timothy S. Cowen

“I heard the basement smoke detector going off and when I opened the basement door, I saw smoke and flames in the basement”, stated the Town of Sullivan resident, whose house went up in flames last week.  Three children were sleeping in a room in the basement with the door closed.  The mother rushed down the stairs to scoop up the children and usher them to safety out the front door. Without these working smoke detectors, it might have been a different, tragic scenario of children losing their lives.

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, the Bridgeport Fire Department was alerted by Madison County 911 for a reported structure fire located in the Town of Sullivan. Upon arrival, fire crews were faced with a working structure fire in the basement extending to the first floor of the two-story home. Due to the large volume of fire upon arrival, a transitional attack was made from the exterior to knock down the major portion of the fire. Crews then went inside to extinguish the remaining flames. There were no injuries.

Other critical factors that saved lives that morning were that the occupants closed doors upon exiting the basement space to stop the spread of fire and they quickly dialed 911 to alert the fire department.

According to the National Fire Protection Agency, working smoke detectors cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half. This fire is a great example of how smoke detectors saved the lives of three children. Almost three-quarters of Americans do have an escape plan; however, fewer than half have ever practiced it. This Sullivan fire is a reminder to everyone to have working smoke alarms and a regularly practiced escape plan.

Madison County Emergency Management provides free 10-year smoke alarms and free carbon monoxide alarms to Madison County residents. For additional information contact the Madison County OEM Fire Coordinator at doug.shattuck@madisoncounty.ny.gov or 315-366-2258.

Editor’s note: Timothy S. Cowen is deputy fire coordinator, Madison County Office of Emergency Management

By martha

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