Dog Alerts Family To Joplin House Fire

Smoke detectors (and family pets) save lives! Just before 12:30 Wednesday morning, a family dog started acting strange, then the smoke detector started going off, which saved the lives of a woman and her daughter in south Joplin. The house fire in the 3300 block of S. Connecticut was ruled accidental.

Press release:

On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, at 12:25 AM, the Joplin Fire Department responded to a report of a house on fire at 3310 S Connecticut Ave. The first crew arrived at 12:30 AM to find a single-story house with heavy smoke showing from the attic area and fire coming from the rear of the structure. Crews entered the structure and extinguished the fire.  They remained on scene until 3:00 AM.

The Joplin Fire Department responded with 7 units and 17 personnel. The Fire Department was assisted by METS Ambulance Service and the Joplin Police Department. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighting personnel.

Note: The resident, Joelle Stansberry, reported that her dog was acting erratic.  At about the same time her smoke detector started going off and she could smell smoke.  She then grabbed her daughter and exited the home out the front door.  This is an excellent example of how a working smoke detector can help save lives!  The Joplin Fire Department encourages all citizens to have at least one smoke detector in their home, and, to make sure the battery is changed every time they change their clocks for Daylight Saving Time.

The cause of the fire was ruled accidental.