Family Leaps From Window to Escape Flames

Two families were forced to leap from their windows to escape a morning duplex fire. Two women were injured. However a smoke alarmed is being credited with saving several lives. It happened around 3:45 a.m. at 2211 Stuart Street. Devonna King (36) told firefighters that everyone was asleep in the A side of the duplex when her friend, Terry Spurley (33), heard the sound of a smoke alarm. Mr. Spurley got up to see the front of the house engulfed in flames. He woke everyone up and they all looked for a way out. Ms. King said their duplex had no back door, so they had to escape through bedroom windows. Four people were in the A side at the time. Three people were in the B side.

A passing motorist saw the flames and called 911, and then helped some of the residents as they climbed out their bedroom windows. One woman suffered an ankle injury, and the other suffered from light smoke inhalation and a cut to the arm. Both were taken to the hospital.

Battalion Chief Winston Shields said most of the house was already engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived on the scene. There was some concern initially that someone might still be inside, but eventually all of the residents were accounted for. Chief Shields said a car parked next to the house was also involved in the fire, and the siding on the two adjacent homes was damaged by the intense heat.

Lieutenant Henry McElvain with the Fire Investigation Division said the fire appears to have started on the front porch, but what sparked the blaze remains undetermined and under investigation. Captain Lesley Morgan is assisting with the investigation. Lt. McElvain said the dollar loss was estimated at around $95,000 for the structure and its contents. Volunteers with the American Red Cross were called to the scene to assist the victims in their recovery efforts.