Family of 6 Narrowly Escapes Overnight Fire Near Lake Conroe

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas -- Tragedy was narrowly avoided overnight near Lake Conroe when a fire out at 3am last night near the front door of a home on Kingsway Drive off Highway 105 West. Inside the home was a family of six, including four small children and the family’s two dogs. The youngest two children were under 4 years old. The children and their parents were sleeping in different bedrooms throughout the house when their smoke alarms began to sound.

The parents were the first to wake to smoke in the home and soon realized that their primary means of escape was blocked by a growing fire near the front door. The warning from the smoke alarms gave them the time they needed to awaken all their children and escort them from their rooms to safety through the back door. After they were safely out of the home, and while firefighters were still on their way, they were able to get their two dogs out as well, and they then used a garden hose to keep the fire from spreading.

Firefighters from Conroe and MCESD 3 soon arrived on scene and quickly brought the fire under control limiting further damage to the home and property. The family was renting the home, but unfortunately did not have renter’s insurance. Fortunately, their Landlord had installed the required smoke alarms in the home, giving them the time they needed to save their family’s lives.

Montgomery County ESD 3 Fire Chief Leonard Mikeska credits the home’s smoke alarms with preventing a tragedy. While the investigation into the cause of the fire continues, MCFMO Investigators confirmed that had it not been for the early warning from the smoke alarms, the fire would have trapped at least one of the children in their bedroom, and likely would have led to serious injury or death for one or more of the occupants.

Chief Mikeska also pointed out the family’s actions both before and during the fire contributed to saving their lives. He noted that it is not unusual to find the back doors of a home blocked or secured shut, but that in this case the family had kept their secondary escape route clear.