First Responders: Smoke Alarms Saved Mother, Daughter In Michigan House Fire

BAY CITY, Michigan (WNEM) -- The Bay City Department of Public Safety said a mother and daughter managed to escape an early morning house fire Wednesday thanks to their smoke alarms.

First responders were dispatched to 411 S. Sheridan Street at about 6:20 a.m. Bay City Fire Chief Kurt Corradi found the 27-year-old mother and 5-year-old daughter outside the home when he arrived.

"She told me the smoke alarms woke her up and she was able to grab her daughter and get out of the residence," Corradi said. "This is proof that having working smoke alarms in your residence does save lives. We know what's happened in the State of Michigan over the last few days with the fire fatalities. It's imperative that everyone has working smoke detectors in their home."

Michigan has experienced 55 deadly house fires in 2022 that have resulted in 68 deaths, according to the Bureau of Fire Services. That is a 16 percent increase during the same time frame in the averages from 2017 to 2021.

"Those 68 deaths are 68 too many," Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer said. "These deadly fires are all too common and often preventable. Michiganders must work together to prevent future fire deaths."

Sehlmeyer said non-working smoke alarms are a common thread among the 55 fatal fires across Michigan in 2022 so far. He recommends a smoke alarm in every bedroom and every level of the home to alert a family in the event of a fire can help save lives.

While working with MI Prevention, the Bay City Department of Public Safety will install smoke alarms and CO2 detectors for free.

Meanwhile, in Bay City, Chief Corradi is grateful the family had working smoke alarms.

"This fire also could have been tragic, Corradi said. "Thankfully, the smoke alarms did their job. The mother and daughter had only been out of the house for about two minutes when we had visible fire on the outside of the structure from several doors and windows. It didn't take long for the fire to grow to a point where had they not had working smoke alarms – things would have been bad."

This fire is being investigated by the Bay City Fire Marshal.

The Hampton Township Department of Public Safety and Portsmouth Township Fire Department assisted Bay City crews in battling Wednesday's fire.

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