Residents of a burning Rio Linda home escaped this morning even though their smoke alarm did not work, the house was destroyed and one of their pets perished. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Capt. Christina Pebbles said the residents of the home in the 700 block of Albemarle Avenue awoke about 3:30 a.m. and got out of the home uninjured with two of their dogs. A third dog died in the fire. The smoke alarm did not function because the residents had the battery out of the device for some other use, said Pebbles.
“Smoke alarms are your best defense,” said Pebbles. “Fortunately, these folks got out alive, but they did not have a battery in their smoke alarm because they had taken it out for something else. It’s unclear how they woke up, because our senses are not designed to wake us up from smoke.” Arriving firefighters found the fire burning through the roof and residents already outside. Pebbles said it was too dangerous for firefighters to try to save the dog that remained in the house. Instead, firefighters poured water on the blaze to prevent it from spreading to adjacent homes, Pebbles said. The roof eventually collapsed, and firefighters continued to douse the structure until flames were extinguished. The fire’s cause is unknown, though it started in the rear of the home, Pebbles said, noting that firefighters had not yet entered the charred structure because of remaining danger.
Story by: Sacramento Bee
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