The life-saving alert a working smoke alarm provides extends to those outside the property as seen in this harrowing example, showing how a single, functioning alarm can alert a neighbour to in time to save the trapped occupant.
On Monday evening, March 23, Lilydale CFA Fire Brigade was paged to a chimney fire after a neighbour heard a smoke alarm activating inside a nearby house and noticed smoke.
Coincidentally out training nearby, a Fire Brigade crew arrived within minutes — and their rapid response likely was the determining factor in saving a life.
A life-saving alert
Lilydale Fire Brigade Captain Warren Davis approached the locked front door, which felt hot to the touch. He heard a call for help from inside.
The crew forced entry through the door while a breathing apparatus team performed a rescue, pulling a man in his 40s to safety. He was conscious and breathing and was transported to hospital by Ambulance Victoria.
The power of working alarms
Captain Davis praised the teamwork and rapid response but emphasised the smoke alarm’s role: “The call came in from the man’s neighbour who had heard an audible smoke alarm coming from a house in his street.”
“If we hadn’t got there as quickly as we did, there’s a very good chance the man would not have made it out.”
The alarm didn’t just alert the resid it alerted the neighbour, who called Triple Zero, and ultimately the firefighters training nearby.
As Captain Davis put it: “I know it’s something we always say but working smoke alarms save lives. Without a working smoke alarm, this incident could have had a very different outcome.”
Source: https://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/lilydale-fire-brigade-saves-man-from-house-fire
