SILVERTON, Ohio -- Mayor John A. Smith of Silverton said he and his family have smoke alarms to thank on Sunday morning.
The mayor's home on Elwynne Drive in Silverton caught fire early Sunday morning. Fire officials said four people escaped the home unharmed.
Smith said his son heard the alarms at around 2 a.m. Sunday and woke the rest of the family.
Fire officials said the fire started in an upstairs bedroom, but that it is too early to determine an exact cause. The damage was contained to the top of the home and is not a total loss.
Deer Park-Silverton Fire Chief Dennis Meador said when his crews arrived at the scene they saw flames shooting from the windows of the home.
"The crews made entry were able to get a good knockdown pretty quick on the fire," Meador said." We were able to keep (the fire) from extending to any other areas of the house and do a pretty good job of keeping the contents secured for the homeowners."
Smith said he has called the house his home for more than 25 years.
Smith also called the fire "ironic" because his backyard was filled with smoke the night before; he hosted a barbeque for the neighborhood hours before the fire started.
Smith and his wife, Willa, have ten children and 16 grandchildren, according to the Village of Silverton's website. Only four people were in the home at the time of the fire.
Smith was elected mayor in 2005. Before that, he was a Silverton councilman for 12 years and vice mayor for six years.
The house fire started after a night of high-speed winds and power outages. Duke Energy reported that at least 60 customers in the Deer Park-Silverton area were still without electricity on Sunday morning.
