[Press Release] : Smoke alarm awakens residents, allows them time to escape

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Battalion Chief Steven Sapp - (573) 874-7557

Smoke alarm awakens residents, allows them time to escape

COLUMBIA, MO (July 14, 2007) - After a busy Friday preparing for their
50th wedding anniversary celebration scheduled for Saturday evening,
Veryl and Margie Freese fell sound asleep around 11 p.m. At 12:34 a.m.
the couple awoke to the sound of their smoke alarms. 

The Freese's found the upstairs of their home at 1208 Longwell Drive
full of smoke. They evacuated with their pet poodle, Nala, and watched
as firefighters arrived and battled heavy smoke and fire in the basement
level of the two-level home. 

Columbia firefighters arrived at 1208 Longwell Drive just minutes after
the Freese's called 9-1-1 and found the two-story home with moderate
smoke coming from the windows. Fire crews found the fire in a living
area of the basement and were able to extinguish it in less then 15
minutes. 

Fire damage to a bedroom, living room and several other spaces in the
basement area was significant. Smoke damage to the upstairs portion of
the home was moderate. At the time of this release, no dollar estimate
for the building and contents had been established. The Freese's are
insured for the loss and will stay with family until repairs can be made
to their home.

Fire investigators were still on the scene around 3 a.m. working to
determine where and why the fire started. 

The Freese's attribute the fact that they will be able to celebrate
their 50th wedding anniversary to working smoke alarms which awoke them
in enough time to escape.

Columbia Fire Battalion Chief Steven Sapp noted that the area of
heaviest fire in the basement was directly below the bedroom where the
Freese's sleep. 

"Had it not been for working smoke alarms that alerted the couple to
the fire, they very well would have continued to sleep and succumbed to
smoke and toxic gas inhalation and possibly their bedroom collapsing
into the basement," Sapp said. 

It's a known fact that working smoke alarms save lives. The National
Fire Protection Associate notes that the fire death rate in homes with
working smoke alarms is 51 percent less than the rate for homes without
this protection.

-30-

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