SOUTHINGTON - Lacey Davis knew she should sleep in the living room rather than her own room because of a fire that started in the stove at her home Monday afternoon.
She credits that decision with helping her get out of her 4004 Phalanx Mills Herner Road home about 1:10 a.m. Tuesday when a second fire erupted. That blaze has left her, four siblings, her mother and her cousin living in a motor home in the driveway until they can find something more permanent.
The state Fire Marshal's Office said a fire in the stove Monday afternoon that was not reported spread into ductwork in the home and smoldered until it reignited early Tuesday.
Southington fire Chief Tom Strock estimated damage between $75,000 and $100,000. He said firefighters from Farmington, Champion and Warren Township assisted his crews and had the blaze under control within minutes.
Strock also said the home had two smoke detectors, but there were no batteries in them.
Four adults and five children were inside at the time of the fire but managed to get out.
Lacey's mother, Louise, said the stove caught fire about 2:30 p.m. Monday. Louise Davis said she thought Lacey was cooking something after she came home from school but when they realized it was a fire, they put it out.
They did not call the fire department, something Louise Davis said maybe should have been done.
''We probably should've,'' she said.
Louise Davis said the stove was from Rent-A-Center and they think the electronics shorted out. A crew from Rent-A-Center was supposed to check the stove Tuesday, she said.
Lacey, 15, said she decided to sleep in the living room because of the earlier fire, and said when she was awakened, she thought her mother was getting her up for school.
''I thought she was calling me to get ready for school,'' Lacey said. Being in the living room made it easier for her to get outside.
''I didn't feel something was right,'' she said of her decision to sleep downstairs.
Her 10-year-old brother Billy woke up sisters Jenna, 3, Daisy, 7, and 8-year-old Mackenzie and lead them outside.
''I woke up and then I ran outside with them,'' Billy Davis said.
Tricia Davis, Louise's cousin, said she was sleeping in the basement and was awakened by a sore throat.
''Then it dawned on me the house was on fire,'' she said.
Tricia Davis tried to get upstairs to get the children but her path was blocked by flames and smoke. She ran outside through a basement door, which made it easier to get inside, but those inside were already out.
Tricia has been staying with her cousin to help her care for her family since last spring, when her mother died, and then Louise's husband, James, was killed in an accident two days later on state Route 5.
Louise Davis said the home may be insured through her husband's estate. She has lived there for 15 years, she said.
Her school-age children were held out of school Tuesday because of the fire, although Billy said he still planned on going to football practice later that night.
