A 12-year-old girl helped her family to safety after a serious fire in their basement overnight in Harrisonburg.
The family of five was able to evacuate from their Virginia Avenue home thanks to a single working smoke detector waking the child, which enabled the two adults and three children and several pets to escape unharmed.
“This little girl saved her family this morning,” said Matthew Tobia, Harrisonburg fire chief. “Coupled with a functioning smoke alarm, the life safety education programs that our community risk reduction team delivers in our schools is critical.”
Harrisonburg firefighters were dispatched to the 900 block of Virginia Avenue at 4:30 a.m. Saturday for a reported dwelling fire. Units found a single-family dwelling with large volumes of smoke coming from the basement windows and door, and firefighters were able to quickly locate and extinguish a serious fire in the basement.
The Harrisonburg Fire Marshal’s office has determined the cause of the fire to be accidental starting in a basement bedroom. Due to the extensive damage, the office was not able to determine the exact cause of the fire, though two space heaters and a large quantity of combustible materials were present.
The damage is estimated at $75,000 to the home and its contents.
A total of 26 firefighters responded to the call. The Harrisonburg Fire Department was assisted by personnel from the Harrisonburg Police Department, Rockingham County Fire Rescue and the Harrisonburg Rescue Squad.
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Crystal Graham
