Several escaped a burning apartment home Thursday morning, just three months after Springfield firefighters installed smoke alarms in the structure.
The smoke alarms sounded, notifying residents in two first-floor apartment of a fire that engulfed the second floor apartment Thursday morning.
During a safety canvass in June, firefighters installed a new smoke alarm and replaced a dead battery in another alarm in that building. They found no working some alarms in the unit where the fire started. "This is a great example of why Project RED Zone is so important," Fire Chief David Pennington said in a statement. "As a result of the program, we have already visited nearly 5,000 homes to make sure the occupants have working smoke alarms.