SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio firefighters say a smoke alarm may have saved the life of a woman and several pets as a house fire destroyed her home on the city’s East Side early Tuesday morning.
The fire was reported around 6:40 a.m. at a home in the 500 block of East Drexel Avenue, not far from Interstate 10 and South New Braunfels Avenue.
Firefighters said when they arrived, they found heavy flames showing from the front side of the house. They knocked the fire out quickly and managed to contain the flames to one area.
Fire officials said a woman who lived in the house by herself was alerted by smoke detectors and made it out safely. She managed to save her five pets but was unable to go anywhere else in the home due to the size of the flames.
The fire eventually engulfed the front porch and the house is now considered a total loss with 75% of the home sustaining at least smoke damage, the SAFD said.
Investigators say the cause of the fire is under investigation but the focus is currently on a heater that the woman had placed in a front room. The fire did not threaten any neighboring houses.
According to the San Antonio Fire Department website, as many as seven units answered the call.