The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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October 13, 2012

Woman escapes from attic blaze

By James Neal, Staff Writer Enid News & Eagle

ENID, Okla. — An Enid woman escaped an early-morning house fire Friday thanks to an operational smoke detector.

Enid Fire Department Capt. Curtis Howard said the woman was awakened shortly before 2 a.m. by the alarm on her smoke detector. She was able to leave her home at 602 N. 8th and called 911.

Howard said six EFD trucks and 14 firefighters responded to the call and found a fire in the house’s attic.

He said the attic had filled with smoke and had started burning, and the situation could have turned out far worse had the woman not owned a functioning smoke detector.

“That was one case where the smoke detector definitely had a major part in getting her up,” Howard said.

He said the fire started in a part of the attic where there was electrical wiring and spread to insulation and the roof trusses. Fire marshals still were investigating the fire Friday, but Howard said it appeared to have originated with electrical wiring.

OG&E responded after the fire and removed the meter from the house until after the electrical wiring is repaired, Howard said. He said the woman is temporarily displaced due to the damage to the wiring and smoke damage. EFD estimated the home damage at $2,200.

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