‘Close the Door’ Campaign saves Lexington apartment complex
LEXINGTON, Tenn. — A man uses a door as a firefighting tool and ends up saving a half dozen of his neighbors, according to the Lexington Fire Department. Kyandre Smith on Sunday said he is thankful after he and his daughter Destiny made it out safe from an apartment fire. “I put grease on the stove, and I went to check my phone, and it just got away from me,” Smith said. Smith said what seemed like a wildfire at the the time left just some soot in his kitchen. “The owner actually shut the door to stop the fire from spreading,” Captain David McCrury with the Lexington Fire Department said. Fire officials said because Smith shut his door they were able to put the fire out in just a couple of minutes. Neighbors such as Dorothy Folkman said Smith’s quick thinking kept smoke from getting to her grandsons who have respiratory problems. “It prevented a lot more smoke from coming down here” Folkman said. “We could still smell it, but it wasn’t as bad as it would’ve been.” McCrury said this is a prime example of the state fire marshal’s “Close the Door” campaign. It encourages homeowners to remember to close the door behind them when they leave a fire to prevent the fire from spreading more quickly. “[Closing the door] stops a lot of fires from progressing, because with doors closed it does not receive fresh air or free oxygen that provides fire as it’s needed,” McCrury said. “Him closing his apartment door saved the apartments here, absolutely,” Folkman said. The department said sleeping with your bedroom door closed also could give you extra time in the event of a fire.
