ROANOKE, Va. – The City of Roanoke’s Department of Fire-EMS is reminding residents to have a safety plan in place after two separate house fires left families without a place to call home.
Roanoke Fire-EMS received the call about a house fire on Westover Avenue at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The city’s fire chief, David Hoback, said two children who lived there, were woken up by the ringing of the smoke detector.
“In this case, the kids knew what to do. They got out, they called 911, they gave us all the information. It was phenomenal,” said Hoback.
Officials said that two adults inside the home suffered life-threatening injuries.
Investigators said the cause of the house fire was electrical.
Hoback said during this time of year his department tends to see more electrical fires due to the change in weather.
“You don’t want to have an electrical cord running under a carpet and stuff like that because they tend to heat up. When they do that and you are running a space heater with that and they do heat up and it’s going to start a fire,” explained Hoback.
This week is Fire Prevention Week and experts are urging people to check smoke detectors and make a fire safety plan before it’s too late.
“It may sound fundamental but you know when a situation like this happens,” said Hoback. “I know this family didn’t go to bed last night thinking they were going to have a fire at 5:30 this morning. But if you practice and have active working smoke detectors it will save lives,” he said.
Officials encourage you to check your smoke detector every six months. One of the best ways to remember is when you change your clock to either spring forward or fall back you should check your smoke detectors too.
If you do not have a smoke detector in your home, Roanoke Fire-EMS can give you one for free.