Cyclist helps family ‘narrowly escape’ fiery home in middle of night, Kansas FD says

Two children and one adult were sleeping in a bungalow home when a bicyclist noticed smoke in the area, according to the Hutchinson News.

It was about 3:20 a.m. Wednesday when the bicyclist in Hutchinson, Kansas, saw where the smoke was coming from and went to wake the family up, the newspaper reported.

Firefighters responded to the single-story house fire at 3:18 a.m., according to a Facebook post from the Hutchinson Fire Department.

When the first responders got to the home, they saw flames coming from the roof, Fire Chief Steve Beer said in the news release.

A photo from the fire department shows the home on fire, with flames escaping from the top of the house.

The firefighters who first made it into the home “made an aggressive interior attack and a primary search of the residence,” the release says.

They learned that the three people who had been inside the home — two kids, one adult — “narrowly escaped the structure thanks in part to a passerby on a bicycle who noticed the smoke in the area and notified the occupants of the fire,” the post says.

The firefighters saved four dogs and two cats from the fire, according to the fire department. No injuries were reported.

“Fire was contained to the area of origin but extensive smoke and heat damage was sustained thorough out the residence,” the release says.

Crews were still at the home two hours later to monitor “hot spots” while the fire was being investigated, according to the post.

“This residence did not have smoke detectors to alert the occupants of the fire,” the post says.

The department will be “will be canvasing the neighborhood (on Thursday) to inform residents of the importance of smoke detectors in the home.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2019 at 12:04 PM.