ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 News) – One Rock Hill homeowner now thinks differently when it comes to protecting her home after a fire brought her dream house to ashes.
Michelle Volk now faces more than $500,000 in damages, but she’s not only working to rebuild. Volk tells CN2’s Zane Cina she hopes others can learn from her experience.
Volk says her family was lucky to escape the fire started in her house by a propane tank gassing off, which was made worse by a bug zapper which bolstered the flames.
According to Volk, her husband, a retired Green Beret in the U.S. Army, son, and dog were all able to escape the flames safely, thanks to an Amazon Alexa.
“He was always nervous that Alexa was listening, well she is, but that’s a good thing in this instance. We had eight of them throughout the house,” Volk said. When the smoke alarm went off in the living room, it didn’t go off in the rest of the house because it wasn’t hard wired, and when Alexa heard that she alerted and mimicked fire through all of the devices.”
Before the fire, Volk felt her home was as safe as it could be, with security cameras, monitors, and more surrounding her house.
“You never really think about fire,” Volk said.
Now that she has lived through the devastation, Volk has different ideas to protect her home, and plans to keep flame protection at the top of mind.
Her family has decided to build their own home protection, rather than relying on box stores. This means more cameras to help with flame detection, wired alarms and more.
Volk and her family currently stay in a temporary house, as the family plans to rebuild their same dream home, and recently finished up new plans.
Volk hopes others will learn from her experience, and take fire safety more seriously when it comes to protecting a home.
