MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) – A
noisy parrot that likes to imitate sounds helped save a man and his son from a
house fire by mocking a smoke alarm, the bird’s owner said.
Shannon Conwell, 33, said he
and his 9-year-old son fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie. They
awoke about 3 a.m. Oct. 19 to find their home on fire after hearing the family’s
Amazon parrot, Peanut, imitating a fire alarm.
“He was really screaming his
head off,” Conwell said.
The smoke alarm had
activated, but it was the bird’s call that caught Conwell’s attention.
“I grabbed my son and my
bird, and got out of the house,” he said.
The fire destroyed the home’s
dining room, kitchen and bedroom, Muncie fire officials said. It remains under
investigation.
Conwell said the fact that
he and his son fell asleep on the couch helped save them. They may not have
heard the alarm or the bird if they were asleep in their bedrooms.