CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A working smoke detector is credited by fire fighters with saving the life of a Charleston family early Monday morning.
A blaze broke out about 4 a.m. New Year’s Day at a home on Charleston’s Red Oak Street. A man awoke to the sound of his smoke detector and ran downstairs to check out what was happening. He found his him flames, so high he couldn’t get back up stairs and had to exit the home.
The man’s wife and son were sleeping upstairs and managed to escape buy climbing out upstairs windows and jumping from the roof. WSAZ Television also reports the family’s two dogs escaped as well and nobody was hurt.
Charleston fire department battled the flames along with bitterly cold temperatures in the single digits.
An investigation continues into the blaze, but the initial cause appeared to be a Christmas tree that had dried.