Another lamp tipped over

Link to original story

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A 9-year-old boy potentially saved his family’s life by noticing a fire in their Hollidaysburg home Thursday night.

“My son noticed it when he was going to bed,” said Larry Shelow, who lives at the Union Street home. “He yelled, ‘Mommy, Daddy, there’s a fire.’”

Shelow, his girlfriend, Michele Eastburn, 14-year-old Shayleen Eastburn, 9-year-old Trevor Eastburn and their dog, Bear, all survived the fire, which started about 10 p.m.

No one was injured. Trevor first saw the fire.

Fire Marshal Robert Kerns, who owns the rental property, said it appears that a lamp tipped over and caught clothes on fire in the second-floor bedroom.

He said the fire damage was contained to the second floor. The rest of the house has smoke and water damage.

The kids got out of the house immediately and sat in the car while 911 was called, Shelow said.

“They did really well,” he said.

He was angry with a police officer who Shelow said wouldn’t give him a fire extinguisher at the scene.

He said the officer told him to wait for the fire department because it was too smoky inside the home.

Shelow said he already was carrying water to the second floor.

===

Another great application for a power strip with smoke detecting automatic shutoff. I bet the fire didn't start immediately. I bet it smouldered for a while in the clothing before it ignited. I bet the smoke detector would have shut off the lamp before the fire ignited.