When a Montgomery County man went to check on his wife last week, she was in the bedroom, on a bed, and the bed was on fire, according to a report from the county fire department.  A smoke alarm and a sprinkler were credited by the department with averting possible tragedy.  The man had been in another room when he heard the alarm, the fire department said. According to the department, he went to the bedroom, and found the fire “on the mattress by the pillows with his wife still on the bed.”

The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at a senior independent living facility on Old Columbia Pike, the fire department said. The building was identified by the department as Arbor Crest, in the Fairland/Calverton area, in the 12800 block of the pike.  In a statement issued Sunday, the fire department said the woman had been smoking cigarettes, and “at some point fell asleep.”

Once in the bedroom, her husband was able to rouse her, the statement said. Then, it said, he tried to put out the fire. After making numerous attempt to put it out, the statement said, the couple left the apartment. No one was injured, and damage was estimated at $30,000, the department said in its statement.

When fire fighters arrived, the department said, the fire “was mostly out.” In the meantime, some residents had been evacuated and others sheltered in place, the department said.  Neither the man nor the woman was identified. Their ages were not given. A cat was rescued from their apartment, the fire department said.