MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An early morning fire Friday forced a family out of their Waverly Avenue house in the Glenview neighborhood.
The woman who lives there says her teenage son first became concerned when he smelled smoke. Then the family dog began barking, and that’s what persuaded everyone to run out of the house.
LaSaundra Pirtle bought her first home on Waverly in 2021. The fire has turned her American dream into a nightmare after everything she has sacrificed for went up in flames.
“I can’t even put into words how I am glad it wasn’t in the middle of the night,” Pirtle said.
She thinks the fire may have started in the attic, next to where her son was sleeping.
“He’s upstairs in the attic. His room is right next door to the attic. I thank God, I just thank God,” she said.
It was her 16-year-old son who was awakened around 6 a.m. to something unusual.
“He said ‘Mom, I smell smoke,’ and she (the dog) was acting crazy, and he was like ‘Mom there is smoke in the house,” she said.
It was both her son’s observation, followed by excessive barking from Taffy, their furry family member, that persuaded everyone to get out.