TOLEDO, Ohio — A nightmare became reality for a south Toledo family in January. Fire destroyed their home.
"I seen some smoke and smelled something and I sent my husband downstairs to see what was going on while I got the girls out of bed and stuff. He started screaming, 'The house is on fire! Get out!'" recalls Alexandria Reynolds of the morning her house went up in flames.
She and her daughter passed out while trying to escape. Her two other children made it out safely.
"Our one neighbors and my husband were able to get me roused enough to get me out of the house. EMS showed up, they had to pulled Addison out. She had to be resuscitated," recalls Alexandria.
Addison and Alexandria spent more than a week in the hospital. The family is thankful to be alive, as they had no working smoke alarms in the house.
"We had one smoke alarm in the house and the batteries died and we were gonna get new batteries on payday Friday, and the fire happened on Thursday," says Alexandria.
As we prepare to fall back this week, fire departments want to remind everyone to change the batteries in their smoke alarms, test them, and make sure they're not expired when you change your clocks.
"How quickly fire travels and you may only have seconds to get out, so that's the early warning device, only warning device that will help you get out," says Pvt. Sterling Rahe with Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.
The fire department says it's also the time to practice a family escape plan. It's something says Alexandria says her family practiced regularly.
"We went through it every week, sometimes twice a week. My kids hated me for it, but they're very grateful that we did it now," says Alexandria.
If you need a smoke alarm and live in Toledo, the fire department says to simply stop in any fire station for help. If you are a tenant and your landlord isn't supplying smoke alarms, call 419-245-1140.
You can also get a free smoke alarm through the American Red Cross. Call 419-329-6060.
