Woman, 2 pets escape house fire

A woman, her dog and her cat escaped injury in a house fire Friday morning, alerted to by a smoke alarm.

The woman’s pet bird, Max, however, died, possibly as a result of smoke inhalation.

The fire at 4101 Deer St. caused approximately $50,000 damage, according to a news release issued by the Columbia Fire Department.

The fire department responded to the fire at the home of Connie Browning, 42, at 3:32 a.m., and found a fire in the kitchen. The blaze was under control within 10 minutes, according to the release.

Browning and her dog, Chance, had already escaped when firefighters arrived. Her cat, Hamilton, was also safe.

Browning told firefighters she tried to smother the fire with a blanket. She then called 911 and left the house.

Fire investigators determined the fire started near the stove. But an official cause of the fire had not yet been given. The home is insured, according to the release.

“Again, this just proves that fire alarms save lives.” Battalion Chief Steven Sapp said. “We had a resident who was sound asleep, ... and she was able to get out of there safely. If there hadn’t been fire alarms in this house, I’m sure we would have had a much, much different outcome.”