Newly-Installed Smoke Alarm Alerts Springfield Family of Fire in Their Home

A "Safety in Our Community" installed smoke alarm alerted a Springfield family ahead of time of a fire in their home around 8:55 p.m. Tuesday when a chair in a second-floor bedroom accidentally caught fire. The single-family home is located at 6828 Ben Franklin Rd.

When firefighters arrived, they encountered a smoldering fire in a chair, according to a recent news release from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. The fire was immediately extinguished. No one was injured during the incident.

Fire investigators determined that combustible debris from an incompatible mobile phone battery charger adapter exploded when it was used on an electric hookah, and then landed on the chair causing the fire. Damage is estimated at about $200 and was confined to the chair that caught fire.

Firefighters from Fire and Rescue Station 22, in Springfield, installed an SIOC smoke alarm in the family's home 90 days earlier following a minor incident, according to fire department officials.

"The newly installed smoke alarm is credited with providing early warning and allowing the occupants to escape the home unharmed," stated the fire department in a news release.

The fire department initiated the SIOC program in June. The purpose of the program is to prevent the 911 call. Local firefighters canvass area neighborhoods every Saturday afternoon to check for working smoke alarms. They install batteries and/or smoke alarms free of charge and also offer home safety inspections and seasonal fire and safety information as part of the SIOC program.

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