A working smoke alarm gave the occupants of a burning Estero home time to evacuate. Estero Fire Rescue responded to a call at 9:10 pm on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 20081 Wolfel Trail located in the Breckenridge subdivision.
Upon arrival, crews found heavy smoke showing from one unit of a two story tri-plex. Additional support units were brought in from San Carlos and Bonita Springs to prevent the fire from spreading to additional buildings.
The fire began in the garage and spread to the attic area. Fire crews breeched an attic wall between two residences to extinguish the fire and look for additional fire spread. The fire was contained to the main residence with approximately $150,000 in damage. No injuries were reported. However, one resident was transported to the hospital but later released.
Check Your Batteries
These residents were notified of the fire by their smoke alarm. Take time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms. This simple habit takes just a moment, but is the best defense your family has against the devastating effects of a home fire. Your alarms have been working for about 4,320 hours over the past 6 months since we changed our clocks; the batteries need replacing.
Long lasting batteries are available for smoke alarms but regular monthly testing of the alarm is still recommended to ensure that the unit is working properly. If your smoke alarms are ten years old or older or if they were in your home when you purchased it, you should replace the alarms.
Also, take the time to review your family’s fire escape plan and include these reminders: always have two ways out of every room, have a family meeting place and once you are outside, never go back in.
Estero Fire Rescue offers a smoke alarm program free to all Estero residents. If you need assistance in replacing your smoke alarm, the battery or have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (239) 390-8000