The East Peoria Fire Department responded to a general alarm for a residential fire at 1720 Meadows Ave. at 7:35 a.m. today.
According to assistant fire chief Randy Hurd, firefighters and paramedics arrived on scene within five minutes to find a single-story wood frame home charged with thick, black smoke.
A 53-year-old grandmother and her 20-month-old granddaughter escaped the fire unharmed and were sitting in a vehicle in the driveway. The mother of the toddler had just returned from taking her husband to work and was also inside the vehicle with the other occupants.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire.
"The incident took place at shift change, which helped with manpower as some of the personnel getting off shirt responded," Hurd said.
Hurd said a smoke detector alerted the grandmother, who was asleep, of the fire.
"The important lesson of this call ... was the role a working smoke detector played in alerting the grandmother who was asleep in one of two bedrooms. After awaking to the sound of the detector, she went and got the toddler out of the other bedroom and exited the front door of the residence. Realizing she didn’t have her phone, she left the toddler outside while she went back inside to get her cell phone to call 911. Luckily for her, she made it back through the smoke and out of the home and called the fire in," Hurd said.
Paramedics transported the grandmother and her granddaughter to the emergency room for observation due to smoke inhalation. A pet was rescued unharmed from the home by fire personnel.
The home suffered minor fire damage and extensive smoke damage, Hurd said.
"I truly believe that the presence of a working smoke detector prevented two fatalities this morning," Hurd added.
