Wood Co. family saved by smoke detectors

WOOD COUNTY - When a small fire started inside one Lake Township home, smoke detectors woke up a mother of three children. She credits those smoke detectors with saving their lives.

Right around 1 o’clock Friday morning, Angela Loving woke up to the beeping sound of a smoke detector in her Bradner Road home. Not immediately knowing where the fire was, she woke up her kids and took them to a safe place.

“My mom woke me up and said, 'Abby, get up there's a fire,'” Angela’s 4 year-old daughter explained.

Then Angela grabbed a fire extinguisher and looked around upstairs – discovering thick smoke in the kids’ bathroom.

The pipes had frozen earlier in the day, and she used a kerosene heater to try and thaw them out. The small room starved the heater of oxygen and it began smoking, eventually catching fire, Angela said.

“I wouldn't have known [about the fire] until it was too late because I didn't smell the smoke,” she said. “Had the fire had gotten bigger and consumed that bathroom and gotten into the hall -- I wouldn't have been able to get to all my kids.”

The National Fire Protection Association recommends keeping space heaters 3 feet away from any other objects, and turning them off if you leave the room or go to bed.

While Angela had moved all the towels out of the bathroom as suggested, she said she won’t be using a kerosene heater again.

Meanwhile, her other daughter has a new appreciation for safety equipment – and is proud of her mom’s quick-thinking.

“If you don't have fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, then you should probably go and buy one right now,” 9 year-old Alissa said. “I was pretty thankful that we... came out alive.”

Every other Friday throughout the entire winter, FOX Toledo will be working with area Red Cross chapters to distribute free smoke detectors.

Friday, December 18, from 4-6pm in conjunction with the Hancock County Chapter of the American Red Cross, FOX Toledo will be helping give away free smoke detectors in Findlay. If you are a resident of Hancock County in need of a smoke detector or just want to be sure you have a brand new working smoke detector, all you need to do is come down to the Findlay Fire Station No. 1 at 720 S. Main Street to receive a free smoke detector. We will be giving away smoke detectors while supplies last.