EVERETT, WA – Just before 2 pm on Saturday, an alert resident called 9-1-1 to report an alarm sounding and the smell of smoke at their neighbor’s home in the 1700 block of Cedar Street.
Firefighters arrived at the home and found the alarm still sounding, they were able to detect the smell of smoke, and nobody appeared to be home.
Firefighters were able to quickly gain entry into the home and found a mattress fire in one of the bedrooms. The fire was quickly extinguished using fire suppression foam. Damage to the inside of the home was minimal due to the bedroom door being closed, preventing the fire and smoke from spreading. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In general, this is a good example of how a working smoke detector and a closed bedroom door helped prevent a fire from spreading to the rest of the home.
Remember to routinely check your smoke detector to ensure it is working, they are a key component to a family’s fire escape plan. “When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly”, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). “Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area.” Every level of the home, to include a basement, should have working smoke alarms.
Additionally, a closed door, such as this call, may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire. Per closeyourdoor.org, once a fire alarm sounds, a person has approximately three minutes to escape their home. A closed door may give a person precious life-saving extra time to escape a fire.
For more fire prevention safety tips, visit https://everettwa.gov/Fire.
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