A woman noticed smoke in her apartment, but she could not find where it was coming from so she called 911 for help.

With that one decision she likely saved the lives of the family that lived next door to her.

Scott Fire Chief Chad Sonnier says they were called out at 11:30 last night to deal with a fire in an apartment that had spread.

Thankfully, they were able to wake up a mother and her three chldren who were sleeping while the fire was burning. Everyone was safe. No one was injured.

The culprit of the fire? Firefighters found there was an unattended pot on the stove.

One of the major issues that could have led to a very different story? There were no smoke alarms in the apartment.

Sonnier says there is a way for people who need smoke alarms to get that help. He says they have been partnering for years with the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office on the Operation Save a Life program.

The whole point of the program is to work to save as many lives as possible by helping to get fire alarms into homes where people can't afford them. If you would like to apply for the program to get help, here is the website: https://dpsweb.dps.louisiana.gov/operation.nsf?OpenDatabase

Sonnier urges everyone who doesn't have a smoke alarm or a working smoke alarm to get one. He adds if you haven't checked out your smoke alarm lately to make sure that it's working, that's another good thing you can do to protect yourself from tragedy involving a fire.

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