Child saves family from Underwood Avenue house fire

MARION – A 4-year-old girl's actions may have saved the lives of everyone in an Underwood Avenue house that caught fire Monday morning.

Melissa McIntyre said that she, her brother, mother and James "Tony" Pack were asleep when the fire broke out in the living room at the back of the ranch-style house.

"We were all sleeping with the doors shut," McIntyre said. "My 4-year-old came and woke everybody up. We had no clue."

Pack, the owner of the house, said the fire likely destroyed all of the contents in the room where the fire started, including a baby grand piano, his wallet, car keys, music and "bill money." He said the home and contents were insured.

A Marion Township emergency squad transported Pack to Marion General Hospital for treatment. He was treated and released. The fire singed Pack's face as he and McIntyre's brother Keith McGrady attempted to extinguish the flames with water.

No other injuries were reported. A pet cat died in the fire.

McIntyre's daughter Dakota said she awoke, saw smoke and looked to see where it was coming from.

"There was fire in the big couch," she said. "I went and told (her uncle) and my mom."

Pack said McGrady was trying to put the fire out and he got some water from a sink to help.

"It burned my face," he said. "I threw the water and ran."

McIntyre said after being alerted by Dakota she, her brother and mother and Pack escaped out the front door of the house, which had filled with smoke. Two of the family's children were at school when the fire occurred.

McIntyre credited her daughter for saving the family's lives.

"If she had (been) even two minutes later (alerted them), mom and Thumper, they would have been history," she said, referring to Pack by his nickname.

A family member called 9-1-1 to report the fire at 808 Underwood Ave. about 10:23 a.m.

City Assistant Fire Chief Terry Bowdre said the cause of the fire was undetermined, adding it was not of suspicious origin.

Firefighters estimated the fire caused $45,000 damage to the structure and $15,000 damage to its contents, Bowdre said.

He said the fire started in the area of the couch, burning the living room, spreading down the hallway, damaging the roof structure and the entire rear of the house. He said the rest of the house had smoke, heat and water damage. The fire also melted a "little bit of siding" on the house next door at 812 Underwood Ave.

A frozen hydrant at Woodrow Avenue and Clinton Street prompted firefighters to use about 1,000 gallons of water from a fire engine pumped to the department's aerial truck. He said firefighters were able to remain in the house despite the frozen hydrant and the use of the engine's water. He said it took firefighters about 30 minutes to get the fire under control.

The Marion County chapter of the American Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the family.

"Pretty much everything of value was in the room where the fire was," Pack said, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War.

Receiving treatment in a squad vehicle after the fire, he said he didn't "feel as bad as I did in Vietnam," where he said he was involved in a fire from which he "barely" escaped.

Of the child's efforts, Bowdre said, "The little girl, it's probably a good thing she went down the hallway and found it."

He said the house had smoke alarms, which "as far as we could tell ... weren't working."

jjarvis@marionstar.com

740-375-5154

Twitter: @jmwjarvis