Smoke Detector Saves Sleeping Edina Resident's Life

A resident living in the 6900 block of Dakota Trail was woken up by a blaring smoke detector around 1 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 29.

City officials report the resident was sleeping at the time, but woke up to the smoke detector sounding an alarm and a home filled with smoke. The resident called 9-1-1 to report seeing smoke, but could not see any flames.

Firefighters responded to the call to find an active fire in the attic of the structure. A third alarm was called, with crews from Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Hopkins and St. Louis Park arriving to help extinguish the flames. The fire was under control by 2:40 a.m.

City officials said the fire caused moderate damage.

Fire Chief Marty Scheerer said without the properly installed smoke detector, the incident could have been much worse than it was.

"Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half," Scheerer said. "It is imperative to have working smoke alarms to alert you of a potential hazard, especially when sleeping. These devices are life-saving—make sure they are in working order."

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