Family thankful after winds topple power line leading to Overland Park house fire
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A Kansas City metro family is grateful for smoke alarms and good neighbors.
Fire crews were called to a home in the area of W. 89th Street and Craig Drive Tuesday around midnight for the .
The Overland Park Fire Department says it ran about 40 calls between midnight and 8 a.m. Wednesday. Over a dozen related to power lines. Four were fire calls; one was a significant structure fire with heavy smoke coming from an Overland Park resident's garage.
'She's 95 years old, tough as nails, getting out in 28-degree weather with no shoes, just in her pajamas,' the homeowner's son Chris Roth said. 'It was 12:30 and my wife and I were asleep. We got a call from the neighbor here that said my mom was luckily safe inside his house, but the house was on fire. We got in the car and hauled here through the blizzard and checked on her and took her to Shawnee Mission Hospital to make sure all of her breathing was good from the smoke inhalation.'
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Although the resident of the home, suffered from minor smoke inhalation, Chris and John Roth are thankful their mom made it out alive.
'Smoke did a number. Water did a number on everything. Really looking for pictures, paperwork, anything personal,' John Roth shared with FOX4 Wednesday, as family went back to the home.The brothers credit smoke alarms for their mom still being here.
'The house is an old house, never had smoke alarms. She never had them. Didn't want them. Our sister, luckily, talked her into those because they went off and saved her,' John Roth said. 'She would have slept through the whole thing. She would not be here today, had it not been for the smoke alarms.'
Fire crews responded just after midnight during the storm. Investigators believe a tree limb knocked a service line down in the back yard of the home.
'Which is the power line that comes from the pole to the house, hit that, pulled the meter away from the house, started a fire in the back of the house, the backside of the garage,' Media Manager for the Overland Park Fire Department, Jason Rhodes, shared with FOX4. 'It was pretty significant in the garage.'
OPFD said fires burn hotter and faster now, than ever before, so early notification, like from a smoke alarm, is vital.
'The winds last night were really, really, high and lot of tree limbs down, lot of power lines down, very unfortunate that that happened, but very fortunate that she had those working smoke alarms and was able to get out safely,' Rhodes shared. 'Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, those things are really going to give you your best chance of survival. You need that early notification, so that you can get out before it's too late. Fire can double in moments.'
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Firefighters from both Overland Park and Lenexa fire departments assisted in extinguishing this fire.
'Firefighters began an offensive fire attack, knocking down fire in the garage, while additional crews searched the house to be sure everyone was out. It took crews about 40 minutes to bring the fire under control,' a release from OPFD said. 'Fire significantly damaged the garage, but the entire home suffered moderate smoke damage. While it appears the fire may have started from a downed powerline in the rear of the home, the exact cause is under investigation.'
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