Careless smoking leads to house fire
No one was hurt early this morning when a fire caused by careless smoking broke out at a Butler home, authorities said.
Several occupants at the two-story house in the 200 block of American Avenue heard the smoke detector about 1:40 a.m. and got out.
However, Butler firefighters wouldn’t learn until later that one man inside apparently slept through the alarm and all the commotion.
Emergency officials said a family of four adults and two children live at the rental house that is near the border with Butler Township. A relative of the residents owns the house.
All of the occupants were sleeping when the fire ignited on the first floor.
Investigators suspect the blaze started when a woman fell asleep while smoking a cigarette on an easy chair in the living room, Fire Chief Nick Ban said.
The cigarette or burning ash from it got into the upholstery and smoldered before the chair burst into flames.
The smoke alarm went off and awakened the occupants. Some of them ran to a neighbor’s home for help and to call 911. The caller reported smoke and flames showing.
Butler Township Sgt. Robert Murphy heard the radio call and was first there. He helped get two people out of the house, authorities said.
He also grabbed a fire extinguisher and helped put out the blaze that was in the living room, officials said.
It wasn’t much longer before Butler police and fire crews arrived. Firefighters were eventually told that someone else might still be inside.
A fire crew went upstairs, where they found one of the occupants in a back bedroom — still sleeping.
“The TV was on loud and he never heard the alarm,” Ban said.
Authorities estimated damage at $10,000. It was not immediately known if the family has renter’s insurance or if the house is insured.
The family spent the night with relatives. Ban said he would inspect the house today before deciding it was safe for the family to move back in.
