Racine Fire officials: Working smoke alarm likely saved lives of eight-year-old boy & two adults

RACINE (WITI) -- Racine Fire officials say a fire, believed to have been started by children playing with a lighter, sent a woman to the hospital.

It happened early Sunday morning, July 6th -- just after 7:30 a.m., at a duplex in the 1600 block of Grove Avenue.

Fire officials say a working smoke alarm likely saved the lives of an eight-year-old boy and two adult women.

The beeping smoke alarm woke a grandmother, who found smoke coming from a second floor bedroom.

She entered that burning bedroom -- and took her eight-year-old grandson out safely -- and was able to help evacuate the other adult female and duplex neighbors.

Fire officials say the fire spread throughout the second floor and attic before firefighters were able to extinguish it.

Fire officials say a basement to roof fire wall prevented any fire, smoke or water damage to the neighboring unit in this duplex.

The unit where the fire occurred is uninhabitable.

Residents are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Racine Fire officials say: "Working smoke alarms normally give residents early warning of fire and ability to self-evacuate.  Also, working smoke alarms normally result in the Fire Department being notified earlier and arriving to ideally find relatively smaller fires with citizens who have self-evacuated.  A working smoke alarm is a win-win for all concerned and one of the cheapest and best options to prevent injuries and death due to fire."