Madison Heights woman escapes from house fire thanks to her son

Investigators advise homeowners to be vigilant with chargers

MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. – UPDATE:

It all started around 6:30 Monday a.m. Minutes after a Madison Heights mother made it out of a burning home she told 10 News she heard popping sounds coming from another room in her house. 

Her son was outside getting ready to leave for work when she ran out to the porch calling him for help. 

"She's very luck she was able to get out and her son had a ladder that he could put up. He was able to help her out before we got here. But she could not go out in front of the house,” Sam Bryant, public safety director, said.

Unsafe to live in now, the left side of the house is completely charred. The woman said the flames were so high they burned parts of the tree in her yard.

"Fire's under investigation. There's typically usually human factors involved in fire. We look at a lot of different things,” Bryant said.

No one was hurt. It took firefighters 45 minutes to an hour to put the flames out.  Right now, fire investigators aren't certain what might have caused the fire. They say it appears to be accidental.

"Just be vigilant with anything you have in your home that you're responsible for, whether it's your cell phone charger or a game or a computer,” Bryant said.

Fire officials advise people to make sure they have working smoke detectors. If you need one they say to contact your local fire department. 
 

ORIGINAL:

With her son's help, a woman managed to safely escape after a fire started in their home early Monday morning. 

Around 6:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a report of a fire at a single-story home on the 400 block of Kentmoor Farm Road in Madison Heights.

The woman who lives there was in the home with the family's two dogs and a hamster when the fire started. She says she woke up to a popping sound and could see and smell smoke.

Her son was outside at the time, getting ready to leave for work. When he saw that his mother was stuck in the house, he put up a ladder to get her to safety. 

No one was hurt and the animals are OK. 

In all, it took firefighters 45 minutes to an hour to extinguish the fire. 

While the fire is still under investigation, officials say it appears to be accidental. 

The Red Cross is helping the family.