Six months after buying his first house, Stewart Moran stood outside on Michigan’s Stonington Peninsula and watched firefighters hose down what was left of it.
The fire destroyed the residence near the Vagabond Resort, according to Daily Press. The house was a total loss, but Moran and his sister both escaped without injury.
Moran credited the home’s smoke detectors with saving their lives. He said he was awake but not fully up early Monday morning when an alarm sounded.
The alarm gave Moran the one thing fire often takes away first: time. It sounded before smoke filled his room, before the garage fire revealed itself, and before the house became too dangerous to move through safely.
The Alarm Sounded Before He Smelled Smoke
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Moran told Daily Press he did not smell smoke in his room until he opened the door. When he walked through the house, he saw smoke hanging in several rooms and realized it was coming from the garage.
He first thought it might be a small garbage fire. But when he opened the garage door, smoke rushed toward him. Moran turned back, woke his sister, told her to grab her phone, and got both of them out through a side door.
The Fire Spread From the Garage to the House
Ensign Township Fire Chief Alan Novak said firefighters were paged around 6:30 a.m. along with the Masonville Township and Nahma Township volunteer fire departments. As crews responded, the call changed from a smoke-filled house to a house engulfed in flames.
More departments were called in for manpower, including Brampton, Gladstone, and Escanaba Township. DTE Energy and Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association also responded and cut off gas and electricity while the fire was burning.
Lake Water Helped Firefighters Fight the Flames
The home was near the Vagabond Resort’s boat launch, and that location helped firefighters set up a water supply. Novak said crews were able to pump water from the lake and move it up to the engine, reducing the need for a tanker shuttle.
The single-story home, which had cathedral ceilings, a basement, and an attached garage, was completely destroyed. Moran’s car, which had been parked in the garage, was also burned.
Officials said the fire appeared to have started in the garage, but the exact point and cause had not been determined.
The Home Was Lost, but the Warning Worked
The National Fire Protection Association says smoke alarms should be installed inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of a home, including the basement.
The U.S. Fire Administration also advises households to draw a home map, find two ways out of every room, keep doors and windows from being blocked, choose an outside meeting place, and practice a home fire drill.
Moran left without going back to his bedroom for his phone. After a smoke alarm sounds, getting out first can be the difference between a total-loss fire and a fatal one.