Fire destroys Hudson apartment

Thursday, December 22, 2005

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Firefighters put out the blaze within 10 minutes of their arrival on scene.

A Pasco County couple lost their home after an electrical fire swept through the attic of their apartment off County Line Road in Hudson.

They were asleep at about 8:30 Thursday morning when the fire broke out.

An alert neighbor may have saved their lives. Tracy Johnson had stepped out of her apartment to see how cold it was when she noticed the smoke.

"It was just a room full of smoke and if it weren't for our neighbor we'd still be in there right now," said Marvin Washington, who lived in the apartment. "We're fortunate we got out and we're alright."

Pasco County Fire Rescue said the couple did have a working smoke

The couple feels lucky to be alive.

detector, but because the fire was in the attic, it either didn't detect the smoke, or the fire may have disabled the electrical line that powered it.

The fire department had the flames out within 10 minutes of arriving on the scene, but not before all the couple's belongings were damaged.

The couple said they will be staying with friends.