Burned out family gets smoke detector fine

WINDSOR, Ontario, April 3 (UPI) -- A Canadian family in the southwestern Ontario city of Windsor who survived a major house fire has been fined for not having a smoke detector.

The fire broke out around 3 a.m. Wednesday on an outside back porch and spread into the interior of the family's house, Windsor Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome told the Windsor Star.

He said it was only because someone was awake that the family was alerted and fled.

"If everyone was asleep at the time of the fire, there's a good possibility that the fire could have extended further into the home and caused serious injury or death to the occupants," he said.

The family was issued a $235 fine for not having working smoke alarms on each story of the home, Tome told the Star, adding investigators determined one detector on the ground floor had been removed.

By Thursday, investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire, which caused $50,000 in damage, the report said.