Temple firefighters rescued two people while battling a house fire on the east side of town early Wednesday morning.

Temple Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer Santos Soto reports that 9 firefighting units, 26 fire personnel, Temple PD officers, and EMS were dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 902 South 21st Street at 2:46 AM. A passerby had noticed the fire and dialed 9-1-1.

Upon arrival, fire crews saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the garage of the home. As firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze, a search team found two people inside the home who had been unable to escape.

Both occupants were transported to Baylor Scott & White Hospital's emergency room with life-threatening injuries. Their conditions were not known as of 4:18 AM Wednesday.

Crews had the fire under control by 3:22 AM. The cause of the fire remained under investigation at the time of this article's publication, and fire crews remained on the scene to monitor the situation.


 

The National Fire Protection Association recommends everyone make a home fire escape plan. Perhaps the most vital part of the plan is having working smoke detectors in each bedroom and just outside of each bedroom.

According to the NFPA, you may have as little as two minutes to escape safely once your smoke alarms sound, so it's important that everyone in the house knows which emergency exits they can use if the main exits of the home are blocked. You should have a designated meeting place outside of your home so you can take a head count and know if someone is still inside the home and in need of rescue.

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