Firefighters responded to a fire at a duplex in the 800 block of Sanborn Street in Florence at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to find flames coming from the front window of the building.
A man and a 3-year-old boy were awakened by the smoke alarm and they alerted the others, according to Florence Fire Captain Ken Carr.
He says the American Red Cross is helping the six people affected by the fire.
The fire is accidental, Carr says, but they haven't yet determine how it started.
The families in the duplex say they may have lost some things, but they're thankful their lives were spared.
The Florence Fire Department credits the working smoke alarm in the home for saving the lives of the sleeping residents. The fire department wants to remind everyone of the importance of having working smoke alarms, said Capt. Carr.
This weekend we will be changing our clocks, it is a good time to also change the batteries in your smoke alarms, Carr adds.
