Firefighters rescue South Side woman

YOUNGSTOWN -- If Monique Stubbins did not have her bedroom door closed when a fire started in her South Side home, she probably would have been overcome by smoke, said Joseph P. Jasinski, assistant fire chief.
"A working smoke detector would have alerted her much sooner," Jasinski said. "Also, citizens must be reminded to call 911 immediately and not the seven-digit nonemergency number, such as this call was made, for every second counts."
Firefighters rescued Stubbins, 24, about 12:45 a.m. today from the back porch roof of her two-story residence at 403 W. LaClede Ave.
The fire began in the kitchen from grease on an electric stove that had not been shut off, reports show. The fire spread through cabinets and caused heavy smoke damage to the house. Smoke traveled up the stairwell to the second floor, where Stubbins slept.
Derrick Sherman, 24, had been cooking and left the pan of grease unattended. He was on an enclosed back porch when awakened by the smoke and yelled to Stubbins.
Stubbins felt the floor when she got out of bed and found it hot. She climbed through the window onto the roof, where firefighters rescued her with a ladder truck, reports show. Damage was estimated at $20,000 to the wooden-frame house, valued at $45,000.