STARKVILLE — Seven Mississippi State University students escaped a Wednesday morning blaze after smoke detectors woke up the structure’s occupants.
Without the warning, Starkville Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy said, those residents could have died.
“There’s no way they would have survived if they hadn’t gone off. We want to remind owners of rental properties to keep up and maintain their smoke detectors. It’s their responsibility. This story could have been tragic if they didn’t work last night,” he said.
SFD responded to 505 Louisville St. about 2:35 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a fire call.
McCurdy said seven of the eight renters were present during the blaze, which started in the rear of the structure.
A smoke detector woke up an occupant, he said, and that person was able to wake up the other sleeping tenants.
“It was sounding, but he couldn’t see flames or smell smoke in his room. When he went to investigate, he found the flames and then beat on all of his roommates’ doors. They were lucky that they were able to get out in a timely manner and unharmed,” McCurdy said. “The good part about this: Their landlord had maintained and kept up the smoke detectors. Most college kids don’t think about that, because they’re just renting.”
Firefighters first on the scene discovered the structure’s back porch fully engulfed, and the fire was spreading throughout the building.
The building’s attic, roof and numerous rooms were severely damaged. McCurdy said the structure was “as close to a total loss as you can get.”
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, and emergency officials remained on scene throughout the morning hours.
The fire’s cause has not yet officially been determined.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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