KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Overland Park fire officials are praising a ten-year-old child and the family's smoke detectors for helping them escape a fire Friday morning without serious injury.
Around 6 a.m., crews were dispatched to the fire in the 10800 block of W. 98th Street and were greeted with heavy fire from the back of the house.
“It was kind of scary," homeowner Jeff Jennings said. "Several of us didn’t make it out with shoes and it was 20 degrees out."
After crews searched the house to make sure everyone was out, firefighters spent the next 20 minutes extinguishing the fire.
“Everything on the porch is just melted," Jeff's granddaughter August Jennings said.
The cause of the fire was determined to be the result of a shop vacuum catching fire after being used to clean a pellet smoker grill's spent fuel.
When the vacuum caught fire, the flames spread to the back of the home, up the exterior and to the attic.
A fire department spokesperson said a child in the home heard the smoke alarm and alerted other members of the family.
“My brother Jacob was yelling," August Jennings said.
“Jacob came down and said the house is on fire and then the fire alarm started going off," Jennings said.
With the holidays approaching, OPFD reminds the community to properly dispose of spent materials from grills and fireplaces by using a metal can with a lid and storing 10 feet away from combustible surfaces.
OPFD also had tips for parents and kids.
“If you’re in the bedroom check if the door is hot open it make sure it’s clear," fire department spokesperson Jason Rhodes said.
The fire department also stresses the importance of working smoke alarms in alerting residents to danger.
The Jennings family has insurance but says this will be a big adjustment.
“Our biggest need is to find a place," Jennings said. "So the Red Cross came right away and gave us money for us to get a place.”
—
