Smoke alarm saves man from outdoor fire

Kitsap Fire District 18 shot of a brushfire that caught a nearby house on fire.



POULSBO -- Firefighters are praising a man for checking his smoke alarm batteries after a working alarm helped saved him from a brushfire outside his home, the Poulsbo Fire Department said.

Firefighters were called to reports of a brushfire early Tuesday morning in the 20000 block of Pugh Road in Poulsbo. When firefighters arrived they noticed the fire had caught the front porch of a nearby home on fire, and the deck was engulfed in flames.

Just moments after firefighters arrived and prepared to fight the blaze, a man walked out of the house. He ran past the porch fire to safety while crews put out the flames. Crews managed to save a portion of the house, but the deck was a complete loss and the interior was heavily damaged by smoke.

The 50-year-old man later told firefighters he was sleeping when his smoke alarm went off inside. Only then did he notice the fire. Firefighters attribute a properly working smoke alarm to saving the man's life.

The man is now displaced and receiving assistance from the Red Cross. The Kitsap County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.