Firefighters have ruled a house fire in Old North Columbus this morning accidental.
A neighbor spotted the fire in the 100 block of East Blake Avenue around 6:30 this morning and called 911. One resident crawled through a window to a porch roof, the second had to be carried out a window by firefighters and is in critical condition at OSU Medical Center.
Battalion Chief Steve Martin says the fire highlights how vulnerable sleepers can be.:
Martin reminds people to check their smoke alarms regularly, but Martin knows it often gets postponed. He has two pieces of advice.:
Martin-2...extinguished.mp3
"Number one, get that smoke alarm. If you have it, make sure that it works; test it once a month. If you don't have one and you need help, give us a call. And the second thing I want people to do is at night everybody needs to shut their bedroom doors. I know parents like to be able to hear everything that's going on in the house - get a baby monitor or whatever you need to do, but shut the door. Because if there's a fire that breaks out in part of the house just having a closed bedroom door - with smoke alarms - can be enough to keep you alive until the fire department is able to get there and get you out or get the fire extinguished."
Columbus residents who need smoke alarms, need help installing them, or want their current alarms evaluated, can contact the Division of Fire for help, at (614) 724 0935
