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Smoke Alarm Credited for Saving Montgomery Co. Family

By: KBTX Staff Email
Updated: Sat 8:38 PM, Jan 05, 2013

Montgomery County firefighters worked a fire Saturday afternoon.

Just after 2:30 p.m., Caney Creek Fire Department was dispatched to a mobile home fire in the 17000 block of Pine View. The first arriving unit on the scene stated he had heavy fire conditions in a mobile home. Needham and Central Montgomery County also were en route to assist with the fire.

The home owner, Selena Armstrong, told firefighters she was asleep when the smoke detectors started going off. She immediately got up and when she opened the door to the heating unit.

“It was like a rocket," she said.

Flames were going into the attic. She also told them her small dog was in a kennel in her bedroom and she was not able to get to her.

Crews battled the stubborn fire for quite some time as it ran through the attic. One crew had entered near the rear of the home and worked its way in, and started making progress on cutting off the fire. That’s when the roof collapsed on them. A RIT team was immediately deployed as air horns sounded from the fire trucks warning other firefighters to evacuate the home.

The crew made it out, covered in debris. However, their hose lines were trapped under the roof. One of the firefighters had his helmet broken as the roof came in.

Crews were able to locate the kennel in the bedroom covered in debris but the dog was not in it.

Then, almost two hours later as firefighters were overhauling the home, they lifted the couch to move it outside. Under it, Lucy the dog was shaking and scared, but uninjured. Firefighters immediately moved the dog outside and administered oxygen.

Selena was unable to hold back her emotions as she took Lucy in her arms.

Armstrong, who lives at the home with her 15-year-old son, had no insurance. The home and contents were a total loss.

Assistant Montgomery County Fire Marshal Joe Manz said that this is one time without a doubt he can say that smoke detectors saved Ms. Armstrong’s life.


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