Smoke detector saves woman from fire on Houston's south side

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A smoke detector is credited with saving a woman's life when her house caught fire on Houston's south side Thursday morning. That small device is now the subject of a city-wide campaign to encourage Houstonians to protect themselves.

We hear a lot of stories about fire deaths, and in many of them, the absence of a smoke detector was a factor. On Thursday, the other side of the story -- a fire in which the person in the burning house credits the alarm with her survival.

Charmaine Depuy-Watson is picking up the pieces of her life and her home. At 1am Thursday, smoke filled the house where three generations of her family once lived. She was awakened by an alarm.

"The smoke detectors woke me up. I got my dog out. I don't know where kitty is," said Depuy-Watson.

It is the second house fire in the past week in which smoke detectors have saved lives. Last Friday near Texas Southern University, a family of six, though injured, lived through a house fire. The owner was also wakened by the high-pitched beeps and able to call for help.

Houston City Council Member Wanda Adams is asking that homes near Thursday morning's fire be canvassed by the fire department and free smoke detectors offered to those who don't already have them.

"It's something we can give to them free with batteries, we're going to do that because we don't want this to happen to anyone because this is a tragedy for any family," said Council Member Adams.

The Houston Fire Department has long supplied detectors to low-income residents and it's now going beyond the smoke alarms.

"We have carbon monoxide detectors which are for older houses that heat with gas, but it all serves the same purpose and that's to save lives," said Captain Ruy Lozano with HFD.

The fire department is supplementing what the city can provide with public and private grants; to the point that last year 4,000 free smoke detectors were distributed. That's up about 25 percent from the year before. And then there's the public service campaign with billboards that read: "A $5.00 smoke detector saved my life." It's drawing attention.

"We got a lot of calls and through the website requesting smoke detectors once the billboards went up," said Laura Hunter with HFD Fire prevention.

A smoke detector will not prevent the loss of a home or of family treasures -- Charmaine Depuy-Watson will tell you that. But what that five dollar device allows her to do is to be alive and tell her story.

"I wouldn't have known because there's smoke before the fire so it's imperative to have smoke detectors," said Depuy-Watson.

An overloaded electrical outlet is said to be the cause of Thursday morning's house fire.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, deborah wrigley

View the original article here

Dog saves family from house fire

This house was destroyed by fire near Splendora, but the family that lived there survived thanks to their dog

  SPLENDORA, TX (KTRK) -- A fire ripped through a Montgomery County house overnight, and police say the family dog may have saved its owners' lives.

Several fire departments responded to the blaze on North Lakewood Drive just west of Splendora around 1am Saturday.

Firefighters worked to put out the flames and hot spots for at least three hours.

The house was destroyed and all belongings were lost, but the family that lived there survived. Officials said a grandmother, mother and three children were home when the fire broke out. Everyone managed to escape after their dog woke them up to warn them about the blaze.

The Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, the community organized a donation drive for the family. Donors showed up at Splendora High School Saturday evening with clothing and other necessities for the family.

Monetary donations are being accepted at Splendora High School. You can send them to or drop them off at the school, labeled to the attention of Student Council Sponsor Rhea Young. The address is 23747 F.M. 2090 West, Splendora TX 77372.

A family friend also set up a Paypal donation account at hendrixfirefund@gmail.com.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Local »

local
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/ktrk/xml?id=5758258&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Boy, 4, saves grandfather's life

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- His family says this boy's bravery helped save his grandfather's life. Kanden Jones may be too young to own a smart phone, but apparently he knows how to use one. The family of the four-year-old says that knowledge helped him when his grandfather's health took a turn for the worse.

It started as a guy's day between grandfather and grandson while mom and dad tried to get in some holiday shopping. But a near disaster turned into a holiday present the Jones family says they will never forget and always cherish.

It's a cozy night for Kanden and his Paw-Paw, Carl Jones. A far cry from what they experienced on Saturday. Carl Jones was near death, and with no one around, it was up to Kanden to do something. At four years old, Kanden doesn't know his own telephone number, but knew how to work an iPhone.

"I called that button, but it wasn't working so I called that button," Kanden said. "I pressed the camera button"

Whether he knew it or not, Kanden was recording a video -- you can see Kanden as he was running through the woods; you can hear Kanden whimpering and you can see Carl Jones lying on the ground

"I was just running back and forth. I wasn't afraid of nothing," said Kanden. "I was crying cause I wanted my parents."

Kanden and his grandfather were on a massive deer lease in Liberty County. A picture was taken earlier in the day inside the deer stand. They'd gotten there at 6am and by 10 in the morning were ready for lunch. That's when Carl realized he was woozy.

"My diabetes, my sugar got too low and I knew it was starting to get low; that's why we was going back to camp," said Carl.

They never made it, Carl passed out and Kanden couldn't wake up his Paw-Paw.

Kanden had inadvertently redialed his parent's phone number already logged into the iPhone and told his father Paw-Paw was sleeping.

"I said, 'He's asleep?' He said, 'Yeah.' And he kept yelling to my dad, 'Hey Paw-Paw, Daddy wants to talk to you, Daddy wants to talk to you.' And I knew because of my dad's diabetes that something was wrong," said Jarret Jones.

Kanden's parents and other family members drove immediately to the deer lease. On foot and hollering, it took a frantic two hours before they found Kanden.

"I said, 'Bubba if you hear us, you have to holler back and let Mommy know.' Two seconds later he says, 'Momma, I'm right here,'" said Tiffany Jones.

Carl was found lying on the ground a few feet away.

"I think somebody, I just really think it wasn't my time to go. I think the good Lord was telling me, Carl you need to wake up," he said.

The Jones family also called the police and called for an ambulance. Carl Jones was taken to a nearby hospital and treated. Now the whole family is together and eager to celebrate what they say is their biggest gift ever -- a family that's intact.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, cynthia cisneros

View the original article here