Creston Fire Rescue are urging residents to protect their homes with smoke alarms, following a house fire overnight in Erickson.
Crews responded to reports of structure fire after 6pm.
Upon arrival, fire crews found the occupants safely outside the building advising them of the smoke and flames coming from the basement.
“Knowing that everybody was outside we were able to get our hose lines deployed and be able to make entry into the house and into the basement and put the fire out.” said Creston Fire Rescue Fire Chief, Jared Riel.
“The fire was contained to the basement with some damage at the top of the stairs, there was some water damage from melted water lines and there was some smoke damage throughout the entire house.”
The fire remains under investigation.
Riel says now is the time is the time to prepare your homes.
“Check your chimneys for your wood stoves and fireplaces, make sure they are cleaned and ready to go for fires leading into the winter season.” said Riel.
“And most important thing, I can’t emphasize this enough, is smoke detectors/smoke alarms in your house.”
“Make sure there’s at least one on every floor and make sure that they are in working order so that you’ve got that early warning to get out.”
“In this particular incident, there was no fire alarms or smoke detectors installed and so they heard the fire and then saw the smoke coming from the basement and that’s what triggered them to get out.”
“Had there been smoke alarms in place, they would have heard it a lot quicker and would have been able to get out a lot quicker. It was very scary for them in those moments when they realized it and I think they weren’t prepared for how big it got before they noticed what was going on.”
If you do not have smoke detectors or would like further fore safety advise, please reach out to your local Fire Department.
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