Son’s Quick Action May Have Saved Life of Woman Who Fell in Fireplace While Smoking

A Macomb County woman’s son’s quick response may have saved her life after she reportedly fell into a fireplace while either lighting or extinguishing the spent butt of a cigarette Thursday afternoon.

The 56-year-old woman’s clothes ignited as she stood near the gas log fireplace, the Detroit Free Press reports, citing a Macomb County Sheriff’s Department news release.

The woman reportedly told authorities that she dropped to the floor and rolled, trying to extinguish the flames, but was unable to put out the fire herself.

The smoke activated the smoke alarm, alerting the woman’s son, who told authorities he found his mother lying on the floor with her clothes engulfed in flames. He unsuccessfully tried to douse the flames with a bowl of water, and eventually smothered the fire with a rug.