Neighbors, smoke alarm key to stopping fire

SANDPOINT — A smoke alarm and a local couple are credited with a quick response to a fire that minimized what would likely have been a much more catastrophic event.

 Steve and Grace Brixen were quietly eating dinner in the backyard of their south Sandpoint home Saturday evening when Grace began hearing a repetitive sound like an alarm clock coming from the direction of the house of their neighbor, Ben Baker.

Baker wasn’t home.

Curious, Grace went to the back of the house to investigate.

“The first thing I noticed was smoke coming out of the window,” Grace said.

She alerted Steve, then ran to the front of the house, where she found the front door locked. She peered through a window.

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