Smoke Alarm Helped Save Elderly Bethesda Woman From House Fire

MCFRS officials say a smoke alarm alerted neighbors to a house fire on Thursday morning in Bethesda that led to the rescue of a 90-year-old female resident.

Soon after 5:30 a.m., firefighters were called to the house in the 7700 block of Glenmore Springs Way near Seven Locks Road after receiving multiple calls from neighbors reporting that the house was on fire.

The fire, heavy in the garage of the ranch style home, was extinguished with little spread into the remainder of the house, officials said. Upon arriving firefighters were told the 90-year-old woman was possibly still in the house, where they found her in a back bedroom.

She was treated on the scene and transported to a local hospital, where officials said she remained Thursday evening with non-life threatening injuries.

There were no vehicles in the garage at the time of the fire, which officials said led investigators to determine the fire started in or around an oil-filled space heater that was plugged into an extension cord.

The fire caused $200,000 in damages to the structure and contents and three adult residents were displaced.

“A working smoke alarm, along with alert neighbors, were a life-saving combination,” according to the MCFRS description of the event.

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