Working smoke detectors saved the lives of a family and their home early Friday morning in Butler Township.
Just before 4:30am, Friday, emergency personnel were called to 324 Dutchtown Road, in Butler Township near Lavelle for a house fire.
The call came in with a report of flames coming from the chimney area.
Emergency personnel from Lavelle, Fountain Springs, Englewood, Ashland, and Mount Carmel were called to the scene, as well as Kulpmont's RIT.
According to Lavelle Fire Chief Russ Hummel and Asst. Chief Jeremy Smallwood, when firefighters arrived, they found the homeowner had put out the fire with a garden hose.
The family reported that they were woken up by their smoke detectors and found the home filling with smoke. The family evacuated and found fire running up the wall from the basement to the first floor.
Firefighters confirmed no extensions of the fire with a thermal imaging camera. Ventilation of the home was also needed.
Damage to the home was minimal.
Hummel and Smallwood said, the fire was found to have started when a stove pipe in the basement came apart and caught the wall on fire.
Asst. Chief Smallwood credited the family for having working smoke detectors. "5 minutes longer and the fire would have cut off their escape. The smoke detectors saved their lives." Smallwood said.
Most of the units cleared the scene within the hour.
