RR home saved from fire

Ken Johnston

Bill Hagarty credited a smoke detector with saving his and wife Joan’s home and possibly their lives.
Around 2:45 a.m. last Wednesday morning the Rainy River Fire Dept. was called to a fire at the 119 Third St. home of the Hagarty’s. However, by the time they had arrived Bill had extinguished the fire which started in the basement.
“Joan woke me up telling me the alarm was going off. I said, ‘What alarm?’ and got up in a hurry.”
Hagarty quickly got to the source of the alarm and put the fire out. Within minutes the fire department was on the scene and quickly ventured into the smoke to see if the fire had spread. They brought out the grate from a space heater with several items, including a lantern on it that had been melted by the fire.
The fire dept. hooked up big fans and sucked the smoke out of the home which suffered smoke damage but was saved.