Smoke alarm’s fresh battery key in Redmond house fire

A Redmond couple who recently replaced their smoke detector battery was awakened by it early Friday and were able to escape their home and call firefighters to a blaze in their garage that caused $10,000 damage, officials said.

Redmond Fire & Rescue was dispatched shortly before 3 a.m. to the fire in a two-story house at 3030 Southwest Quartz Avenue, said Battalion Chief Chris Simmons. While en route, crews were told the occupants, Patrick and Kristi Brown, had evacuated, he said.

Firefighters found a fire contained to the garage and quickly doused the flames.

Simmons said the couple told fire crews they had recently replaced their smoke detector battery, and the alarm alerted them to the fire and allowed them to escape.

Losses to the building and contents were estimated at $10,000. The cause of the fire was under investigation, the fire official said.

“Redmond Fire & Rescue would like to remind everyone to check their smoke detector batteries,” Simmons wrote in a news release. “As this incident illustrates, they do save lives.”