Smoke Detector Helps Tulsa Couple Escape Burning Home

A rural Tulsa County couple says a smoke detector woke them up so that they could escape their burning home.

They tried to save the home with a garden hose, but it took the Collinsville Fire Department to finally put the fire out.

When Clarence Kelley woke up to the sound of his smoke alarm at the Green Acres Memorial Gardens at 126th Street North and U.S. Highway 75, he smelled smoke and saw the breaker panel in the home glowing.

Kelley says he woke up his wife, got some items out of the home and then grabbed the garden hose.

He credits his smoke detector with saving his life.

"Well, I'm glad that I had one, it could have cost us our life," said Clarence Kelley.

Firefighters did tell Kelley that his use of the garden hose saved about half of his home.

Investigators still don't know what caused the fire.