A smoke detector saved the lives of a Montgomery County family when their home caught fire while they slept, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.
The blaze broke out shortly before 5 a.m. in back bedroom of a home in the 27000 block of East River Road.
The Rougeau family was asleep inside until the smoke alarm went off.
"As it illuminated the hallway, I saw smoke barreling through the hallway," father Paul Rougeau said.
He woke his wife, Kathy, and the couple scrambled to get their two children and three grandchildren to safety. It took two trips to get them all out.
"I don't know if we would have been able to get them all out," Kathy Rougeau said.
"When my dad got me up, I could see fire striking," son Aaron Rougeau said.
"I was scared. I was screaming -- trying to grab kids and grab my grandbabies and get out of the house," Kathy Rougeau said.
All seven made it out unharmed, despite the flames spreading quickly.
Fire investigators are looking at the possibility that lightning sparked the blaze.
The Rougeaus installed the smoke detector about one month ago, thanks to the urging of Aaron, who learned about fire safety during a Tiger Cub Scout outing.
"If we didn't have it, we wouldn't be here -- my grandbabies wouldn't, my babies wouldn't. The thing saved our life. It really did," Kathy Rougeau said.
The home was destroyed.
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