A family of three was displaced Wednesday in an early-morning Β fire in an apartment where "there did not appear to be working smoke alarms," Tucson fire officials said
Firefighters found smoke and flames coming from a second-story bedroom window when they arrived around 8:45 a.m. at the apartment complex in the 800 block of North Alvernon Way.Β
The residents, a mother and two boys, weren't home at the time, but the family pet was. When firefighters entered, "they were greeted by the family dog that was very happy to see them and get out," Tucson Fire Department said in a news release.
Officials said the family is lucky the fire didn't happen in the middle of the night when there might not be passersby around to notice and call 911.
"If this has been during sleeping hours the outcome could have been much worse," the news release said.
The displaced family is getting assistance from the Red Cross and from the management team at the apartment complex, it said.
It wasn't immediately clear if the landlord, or the tenant, was the party responsible for making sure smoke alarms work. That can vary based on when an apartment complex was built and what building code provisions were ineffect at the time, Tucson Fire Captain Andy Skaggs said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire department recommends a working smoke alarm for each sleeping area as well as in the hallways of sleeping areas.
