Flossmoor firefighters rescued a family of four from their roof Monday after a blaze charred the first floor and filled the house with smoke, officials said.
At 6:25 a.m. the Flossmoor Fire Department received a call: a small child had waken up the father of the family and alerted him to the fire. They were trapped on the second floor of their home on Ash Street and Brumley Avenue, and heading for the bathroom for safety, said Flossmoor’s Assistant Fire Chief Keith Damm.
On arrival, crews saw heavy smoke pouring from upstairs, Damm said. Fire crews did not find a working smoke detector in the home, he said.
A police officer, seeing the smoke become thicker and thicker, told the family to climb from a second story window to the roof, Damm said.
The fire crew split up and worked fast: Some worked on the fire downstairs and others threw a ground ladder to help the family down.
Within minutes, fire engines and trucks came from Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Homewood and Tinley Park to assist the department, Damm said.
Two ambulances took the family to South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest and they were released later that day, Damm said.
Fire extensively damaged the first floor of the home and there was smoke damage throughout. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but is not suspicious, Damm said. The fire appears to be accidental.
Damm said crews were fortunate to reach the family when they did.
The home did not have a working smoke detector and the bedroom doors were kept open while the family was sleeping, officials said. Damm recommended keeping doors closed at night because smoke and fire can’t penetrate them and it creates a safe space of breathable air crews can reach easily.
“We really need people to check their smoke detectors,” Damm said. “This really could have been a very, very bad day for us.”