DURHAM – A working smoke detector most likely saved the life of a sleeping Durham woman early Friday morning, according to fire Chief Bill St. Michel.

Tamara Saarinen, 47, of Pinkham Brook Road was awakened in her smoke-filled 2-story wood-frame home by the blaring of the smoke detector shortly before 2 a.m. Friday. She escaped unharmed and probably owes her life to a “$10 to $15 investment in a smoke detector,” St. Michel said.

St. Michel said the fire started from an overheated electric fan in the basement and was confined to that area. He estimated damage from the smoke throughout the house and the wiring in the older home at between $5,000 and $10,000. It was insured.