ROSEBURG, Ore. (KMTR) -- A family is safe after their house caught on fire Sunday morning in Roseburg.
The family was asleep when flames broke out and officials say a few key safety measures kept them alive.
Fire investigators believe the fire started when a baseboard heater turned on automatically overnight. The heater was in a room the family was using for storage with clothes and other linens covering the floor.
The home owner, her son and her two grandkids were awakened by smoke detectors and got out safely.
“We recommend that folks check their smoke detectors monthly,” says Deputy Fire Marshal Monte Bryan of the Roseburg Fire Department. “Make sure they're working properly. They played a huge role in getting these people out safely. As did the fact that the 12-year-old girl actually used what she had learned in school,= and she crawled low beneath the smoke and got out, so that was a huge, huge benefit to her, the education she received in school.”
Deputy Fire Marshal Bryan says this is also a good reminder that as the weather gets colder, people need to use household heaters with caution. Keep areas around heaters clear, allowing at least 18 inches of space. And that goes for all heaters, but especially space heaters.
