ROME TOWNSHIP- A family of five is safe this morning after a fire damaged their house.

Authorities are crediting the family's smoke detector for keeping a bad situation from becoming worse.

Rome Township Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief and Public Information Officer Mike Boster said fire broke out at the residence of Matthew Taylor

on Scott Avenue just after 3 a.m. Taylor, his wife and three children escaped unharmed.

&#8220The smoke detector saved their lives, absolutely,” Boster said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation,Boster said, but it appears the fire may have started in the basement near the furnace.

&#8220With colder weather, people are turning on their furnaces and turning to alternative sources of heat,” Boster said. &#8220It is important to check and make sure these sources of heat are working properly and are used safely.”

The house sustained smoke and water damaged throughout, Boster said, but is not a total loss.

The Proctorville Volunteer Fire Department and Chesapeake Union Volunteer Fire Department provided mutual aid.