OKCFD: Smoke Detectors Saved Homeowner's Life

Fire ripped through a home on the city’s Southwest side Friday morning. But the homeowner will have a chance to rebuild because firefighters say he did the right thing. 

The fire broke out just before 4 a.m. Friday, quickly engulfing the wood-frame home. The homeowner got out just in time.

"He was pretty comprehensive about what was going on,” said neighbor Harry Rupe. “Knew how lucky he was.” 

Lucky because his smoke alarm woke him up in enough time to get out safely. 

"Just thankful that his smoke detector went off.” Rupe said, “Smoke detector went off and he got up and ran to the front door and, didn't see a whole lot of fire until he opened the door then it just sort of self-ignited kind of."

Firefighters say, it sounds cliché, but smoke detectors save lives.

"Over my approximately 15-years on the fire department I’ve seen a handful of fatalities as a result of residential structure fires.” Major Brad Smith with the Oklahoma City Fire Dept. said, “But I’ve never seen one where the occupants had a working smoke alarm."

This time of year, firefighters say they respond to more fires because of people improperly heating their homes; because of circuits overloaded with Christmas lights; or because of clogged chimneys. Saving your family, they say, can be as easy as buying a cheap smoke detector and changing the batteries twice a year. The fire department even gives them away and will put them up for you for free.

"No excuse.” Smith said, “It's easy to get your hands on them and we do recommend that you have smoke alarms in each bedroom, outside each bedroom, and on each level of your house including the basement."