House Fire in TV

[spk7951]

Central Florida News 13 is reporting a home in TV was destroyed by fire early today and one person was sent to the hospital. I believe it was in Bonnybrook.
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/january/196285/Fire-destroys-home-in-The-Villages-and-sends-1-to-hospital

[skip0358]

After seeing the picture in the paper today I'm glad everyone made it out OK.This should serve as a reminder to every one. Test your smoke alarms,change the batteries when you change your clocks, know a second way out of your house and if the alarm goes off DO NOT sit up in bed. Roll out and crawl on the floor to your exit.If you have to use your bedroom window make sure the bedroom door is closed first.

[chuckster]

Great info skip....Thanks..... Tips like roll out of bed, crawl to exit, close bedroom door, etc. should be published in the paper in addition to the usual check smoke detectors.

[SALYBOW]

These are great tips that I have not heard. I will keep the people in that home in my prayers. Imagine losing everything.

[Mikeod]

Don't forget to test the temp of any door if it is closed in case the fire is on the other side. Put your hand on the door. If the door is hot, don't use it!!

[Floridagal]

The fire was terrible. I guess they didn't have smoke alarms. I'm so glad they got out safely. Loosing all your positions is a horrible experience, but getting out and being safe is just great. I just would like to know what did cause that fire and if it is something we should all be aware of and make sure it doesn't happen to us.

[2BNTV]

What a trajedy. I can't begin to imagine how it would be to lose everything you worked all your life for.

My hope and prayers are that everyone will be all right from this terrible fire.

Skip and Mike:

Great tips to remember.

[Russ_Boston]

Bonnybrook is not that old (maybe 2003?). Why wouldn't there be smoke detectors?

I would think that they would be wired even in 2003.

Things can be replaced. People can not. I'm glad they made it out OK.

[Bogie Shooter]

The fire was terrible. I guess they didn't have smoke alarms. I'm so glad they got out safely. Loosing all your positions is a horrible experience, but getting out and being safe is just great. I just would like to know what did cause that fire and if it is something we should all be aware of and make sure it doesn't happen to us.

I believe the owner was quoted in the paper that he heard the alarms go off.

[EXYZEE40]

Re: smoke detectors - if I remember correctly our first Village home in 2001 and our current Bonnybrook home did have smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector installed by The Villages.

[gongoozler]

All Villages homes south of 466 certainly have wired in smoke detectors (required by the building codes). These alarms are wire in together AND they have battery backup . . . so if an alarm did not go off they would have had to turn off the electricity AND removed all batteries or removed the alarms themselves.
I'm surprised that Florida law does not required smoke detectors AND carbon monoxide detectors in a garage attached to a home as it is in many other states.

Other tips . . . wrap yourself in a blanket when getting out from the bedroom, have a fire extinguisher in the house, and always have a flashlight and your car keys next to the bed . . . you can then hit the panic button on the electronic key to wake neighbors and/or others in the house. (also good if you have someone breaking in the home).

[Pturner]

Thank you Skip and Gongoozler for the excellent tips. My heart goes out to the family.

[graciegirl]

Bonnybrook is not that old (maybe 2003?). Why wouldn't there be smoke detectors?

I would think that they would be wired even in 2003.

Things can be replaced. People can not. I'm glad they made it out OK.

As usual I agree with Russ.

(AND, Russ and Linda....you've been here and gone and we still haven't met in person. My bad)

But about this awful fire. It is yet another home totally consumed by fire here in TV. I don't understand how new homes can so quickly be incinerated! The paper said he was awakened by a pop pop noise and he turned on the lights and saw smoke. The fire department arrived in 3.5 minutes but still the house was almost totally consumed. We had rain last night, could it have been lightning??

But even if the house had been struck, how could it have almost burned to the ground? The picture in the paper was evidence of a huge, huge blaze. News stories that are usually broadcast in other areas say....so many thousands worth of damage. That isn't so here. They burn completely to the ground.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

.....I'm surprised that Florida law does not required smoke detectors AND carbon monoxide detectors in a garage attached to a home as it is in many other states.....

Pretty sure that a car running in the garage, even with the garage door up, would have a good chance of inadvertently setting off either of those detectors. What you could put in a garage would be a heat detector. I've done those in two different homes we've had, wired into a security system.

Bill

[Trogg]

The fire was terrible. I guess they didn't have smoke alarms. I'm so glad they got out safely. Loosing all your positions is a horrible experience, but getting out and being safe is just great. I just would like to know what did cause that fire and if it is something we should all be aware of and make sure it doesn't happen to us.

Aren't smoke alarms mandatory in TV?

Trogg

[Bill-n-Brillo]

We were a block away from the home in St. Charles that caught fire on Xmas Eve '09. We saw the smoke and ran over there immediately. 911 had already been called and the fire crews arrived pronto. But the fire was going full-bore. It was simply SHOCKING how fast the place went up in flames. I'd bet it wasn't 10-15 minutes after it started that the fire was going full blast and out of control. Total loss - nobody hurt.

The positive side: When we came down to TV again two months later, the complete rebuild was already well under way!

Bill

[Bogie Shooter]

Aren't smoke alarms mandatory in TV?

Trogg

I went back and reread the article in today's Daily Sun. The home owner is quoted as saying "And then the alarms started going off"
A previous poster said "I guess they did not have fire alarms". What prompted that conclusion is unknown.
Yes, alarms are required by code.....we all have them.

[skip0358]

I posted earlier. I'm not saying this is what happened but. Several of my neighbors in the summertime leave their attic stairs or trap door open to allow heat to escape. What if there was a fire and that trap was open. No stop at all. 5/8 " fire rated sheet rock will hold a fir out for a short time. But if you leave the trap open it goes to the attic and presto no house left. Did the house that burnt have gas? There was a thunder storm. Was this a lightning strike? I don't know. All that matters is that the people got out and they were awakened by the smoke alarms. The houise can be replaced, the lives cant.Glad your both OK. I have some clothes available if they fit you can have them! God bless!

[eremite06]

Once the fire gets to the gas line in the attic, it burns like a torch. By the time fire crews arrive it's already vented through the roof. This has happened numerous times in the Villages.

[kilowatt]

They did have smoke detectors and that is what woke them up. You could hear them going off for quite a long time.