Alexandria Resident Starts Fire After Falling Asleep While Frying Chicken

A working smoke detector and sprinkler system is credited with saving the life of an Alexandria woman on Saturday, according to the Alexandria Fire Department.

At 8:44 p.m. Saturday, a fire started in an unattended frying pan on the stove in a two-bedroom apartment located at 805 N. Patrick St. in the City of Alexandria, according to a news release from the fire department. According to fire investigators, the woman was frying chicken on the stove, left the kitchen and fell asleep in a rear bedroom when she was awakened by the sound of the smoke alarm. The resident returned to the kitchen to find the contents of the frying pan on fire; it had also spread to the kitchen cabinets.

The resident was unable to escape through the front door, due to smoke and fire, but was able to escape through a first-floor bedroom window unharmed; once out, she called 911. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire, confining damage to the apartment.

Alexandria Fire Chief Robert Dubé said that the fire drove home the message of this year’s National Fire Prevention Week, held Oct. 5 – 11 that “Working Smoke Detectors Save Lives.”

Over the last four decades, an estimated 90,000 lives have been saved by smoke detection and fire sprinkler systems. Odds of dying in a residential fire are reduced by half if you have a working smoke detector.

The occupant of the apartment, along with an individual not at home when the fire occurred, were assisted by the American Red Cross with temporary housing until repairs could be made to their apartment.

PHOTO of Alexandria fire truck from Patch archive