5 York Residents Escape Apartment Fire Thanks to Working Smoke Detectors

The fire chief at York Village in Maine said five residents at a two-family apartment building were able to escape a fire on Friday night because of working smoke detectors.

The fire on Avon Avenue happened early in the morning. Emergency rescue crews were called at 4:24 a.m., according to Fire Chief Chris Balentine.

"The fire began in the first floor of a two-family apartment building in the utility closet caused by wiring in and around the first-floor level. It created a tremendous amount of smoke," Balentine said.

Balentine said smoke detectors woke the residents up and they were able to escape on their own. Nobody was injured in the incident, Balentine said.

Balentine said the cost to fix the building has not yet been determined. There is both structural and smoke damage, Balentine said.

Officials at the U.S. Fire Administration in Emmitsburg, Md., say the risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke detectors.

Smoke detectors do not last forever and need to be replaced after every 10 years, according to their website.

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.