Northern Colorado family saved by smoke detectors recently installed by Poudre Fire Authority
A Northern Colorado family says they are fortunate to all be alive after an overnight fire nearly trapped them while they were sleeping. The Lopez family's home in the northern part of Fort Collins recently burned down, but smoke alarms helped alert them before they were trapped.
"We were sleeping because it was 3:30 in the morning," said Lorena Lopez, the homeowner.
Lopez said she, and her children, were lucky to be alive following the fire.
"My daughter woke up screaming. She heard a noise," Lopez said.
The sound was coming from a smoke alarm in the home. They were able to wake up their family members to tell them to get out as fast as possible.
"It was really scary," Lopez said.
"It was like something out of a movie. My first instinct was to grab a bucket and start trying to put out the fires," said Isai Lopez, Lorena's son.
"It is really hard to see your house in flames," Lorena said.
While much of the family's personal belongings were destroyed, everyone was able to get out safely.
The family credits their survival, in part, to Poudre Fire Authority's recent community outreach.
"Almost twice a year we have firefighters come into our neighborhood and make sure that our alarms work, and if they didn't they would put in new ones," Isai said.
Annie Bierbower, public information officer with Poudre Fire Authority, said the fire department works hard to make sure underserved communities have access to working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
"In different communities we are able to pinpoint where we've had a higher call rate or if there's more homes that have no smoke alarms at all," Bierbower told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas.
"It is pretty common for us to find smoke alarms that are 20 years old or more," Bierbower said.
PFA said many times the communities in greatest need of the alarms are predominantly Spanish-speaking.
The Lopez family said they were grateful for the service PFA provided them just eight months before the fire.
"To know we help somebody is just incredible," Bierbower said.
The family is currently running an online fundraiser to help rebuild their home. The fundraiser is located on the family's Facebook account.
"You don't think it could happen to you, but it can happen to anyone," Isai said.
