A smoke alarm earned its keep early Wednesday morning when it alerted a family of four to a structure fire that had broken out in the laundry room of a Rossland house.
The occupants of a house at 2345 Third Ave. were awoken by a smoke detector around 3:30 a.m. When the owners of the home got up to investigate they found there was an actual fire in the laundry room, said Kootenay Boundary regional fire chief Terry Martin.
“The owner used a dry chemical extinguisher to try and put it out and a bucket of water,” he said.
When fire crews arrived on the scene at 4:13 a.m., the man, his wife and two elementary school-aged children had gotten out of the house.
Heavy smoke was exiting building but it took 13 firefighters less than 17 minutes to knock the fire down and get it under control.
Although the fire was contained to the laundry room, smoke had filled the house.
“The important thing with any structure fire is the smoke causes extensive damage,” said Martin. “There is smoke damage throughout the top floor of their house, which is going to, unfortunately, have the owners out for some time until it can get fixed.”
The family did go to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.
The fire is definitely not suspicious, said Martin, but it is still under investigation as to its cause.