Newbury home saved from candle fire

Newbury home saved from candle fire

ADT Security Services honors employees and volunteer firefighters for response

By Andrea Iglar

Anne Beck was sipping coffee on a Sunday morning in January when she received a phone call from ADT Security Services.

Dispatcher Nachon Benn said the smoke alarm system had been activated in her family’s South Fayette home and asked, “Are you safe and are you OK?”

“Oh my god, I do smell something,” Beck replied. “Hold on; my husband is checking. I do smell fire.”

South Fayette resident Anne Beck displays a battery-operated, flameless candle, which she now uses as an alternative to traditional, open-flame candles.

Photo by Andrea Iglar

“I’ll go ahead and notify the fire department,” Benn replied.

While Benn called 911, Phil Beck rushed to the finished basement and woke his 17-yearold son, Conrad, and two friends who were having a sleepover. He used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, caused by a candle that hadn't been blown out the night before.

Phil Beck, foreground, and his family gather in front of their Newbury home with firefighters and ADT employees to discuss a candle fire that was extinguished in their basement.

Photo by Andrea Iglar

Soon, the Oak Ridge Volunteer Fire Department arrived, checking the scene and removing the candle.

“Everything worked like it was supposed to,” Fire Chief Bill Supan said. “Smoke detectors went off, ADT notified 911 [and that] in turn got us rolling here. And the quick thinking of Mr. Beck to take a fire extinguisher and put out the fire."

Fortunately, no one was injured, and the fire caused only a few burn spots on a bar top.

Fire Chief Bill Supan, left, and members of the Oak Ridge Volunteer Fire Department hoist a ceremonial check to celebrate a $5,000 donation from ADT Security Services.

Photo by Andrea Iglar

In March, in the front yard of the Beck home in the Newbury neighborhood, ADT recognized company employees for their efforts and presented a $5,000 donation to the fire department.

“ADT cannot do what we do to help save lives without our first responders,” ADT senior vice president John Owens said.

Benn—the ADT monitoring agent who contacted the Becks and called Allegheny County 911— received the company’s highest honor, the ADT Life Saver Award. The company flew in Benn from Texas to meet the Becks in person.

Anne Beck and ADT dispatcher Nachon Benn share a friendly embrace upon meeting in person in March. Benn received an ADT Life Saver Award for his role in saving the Beck home from a candle fire.

Photo by Andrea Iglar

Phil Beck expressed his appreciation to ADT and local firefighters for their help during “a really scary situation.”

“It was shocking, I would say, as somebody who’s never been in a fire, to go downstairs and have the entire basement lit up with smoke and to see a fire happening in the corner,” he said.

“I am very grateful to the fire department for making sure it was all completely out and to ADT for getting us the alerts.”

The Becks purchased their ADT security system just a few months before the incident.

The Boca Raton, Florida-based company also presented awards to sales advisor Dan Myrick and installation technician Mike Koval, who are employees of the local office at Bursca Business Park in South Fayette Township.

According to the nonprofit National Fire Protection Agency, about 7,400 home fires a year are due to unattended lit candles. On average, these fires cause 90 deaths, 670 injuries and nearly $300 million in property damage annually.

Chief Supan said if you burn candles, blow out the flames before leaving the room; don't light candles in bedrooms; and keep lit candles one foot from anything that can burn.

He recommended battery-operated candles instead—advice the Becks already have taken to heart.

“There [were] other candles in the basement," Anne Beck said. "I immediately went and got a garbage bag, and all of them are gone.”

Find candle safety tips at southfayettepa.com/fire.

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