House fire survivor shares her story amid Red Cross effort's to give away free smoke detectors

FOX 2 (WJBK) - When Lisa Henderson was a young mother she lost her father in a fire. About 30 years later she would be forced out of her home for almost a year - but survived, saved by her grandson.

"That’s Josiah right there," said Lisa pointing out his photo. "The hero."

Just a few moments that can be the difference between life and death. And Lisa Henderson’s grandson likely acted on instinct knowing exactly what to do.

One year ago, Henderson had just gotten back from church.

"And I heard a crackling, I got up to check and there was a blaze," he said.

It was raging inside a room, she tried to put the fire out - but the water made things slippery.

"I slipped three times," she said. "The third time I hit my head and I went out," she said. "And Josiah - he threw water on me and 'Grammy, the fire is coming.' And then as I came to, he ran upstairs to get my daughter Melinda, who was asleep, and got us both out the house.

"Thank God that I’m still around and I owe it all to the Red Cross and God and family and friends," she said.

Hilary Golston, FOX 2: "Do you know if the smoke detectors went off?"

"They didn’t go off," she said.

"When the alarm goes off, you only have less than two minutes to get out and still be alive," said Carnel Richardson, American Red Cross of Southeast Michigan.

The Red Cross in Michigan is installing free smoke alarms and getting folks up to speed on home fire safety so they have a plan.

They call it their Sound the Alarm Event – that runs through May 11th. And it’s not just about the obvious – test your smoke detectors - but if you need help reach out to them, to get up to three smoke alarms installed, for free.

"Many people have smoke alarms that have not been changed for 20 years," said Richardson. "Old alarms in old homes, batteries that do not work anymore."

As part of this campaign the Red Cross in Michigan will install its 80,000 smoke alarm. Red Cross responds to some 60,000 disasters, the majority of them are home fires.

In 2023, the Red Cross responded to some 2,000 fires just here in Michigan.

CLICK HERE for more information on the Red Cross smoke detector giveaway for the Michigan Region.

Lisa Henderson