A life saved by smoke alarm. The Ottawa Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 200 block of South Maple Street yesterday morning December 4th. The homeowner, Brett Staneslow says he was sleeping and was alerted to the fire by smoke alarms. He was able to safely evacuate with the family pets. With the quick response from the Ottawa Fire Department, the fire was contained to the room it started in, upstairs in the home. Staneslow says the fire started when a lithium ion battery malfunctioned and caught fire. Staneslow says in his work with the homeless, they keep a couple dozen battery banks for charging phones and when they meet a homeless person, they give them one and it’s a foot in the door and some immediate trust.
He is the Director of the Franklin County Coalition to End Homelessness. One of the chargers failed and caught fire igniting the others. He says they plan to continue the charger service to the homeless, however will need to invest in fireproof lithium ion protective bags to protect from another fire. Damage to the house from fire, smoke and water will be over $50,000. Staneslow says insurance will cover most of it; however, the fire did destroy all of their Christmas presents and their little girl’s birthday presents. The family is staying in a local hotel until the house is deemed safe to return to. A Go-Fund-Me page has been established to help the family.
