Rockford roommates displaced as AC unit sparks fire

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Two roommates are left without a home after their air conditioning unit is believed to have caught fire.

“If any of us had been in here at that moment, or if anything and gone differently, this could be a drastically different story. I could not be here telling you about it right now,” shared Anne Marie Foust.

Monday evening, Foust was at her Oak Street home alone when she smelled smoke from upstairs. When she went to check the smell, she said she was “hit by a wall of smoke.”

“Going into the smoke wasn’t happening. It was just like, really felt like hitting a wall. And to come outside, there were actual flames just kind of pouring out,” explained Foust.

Her roommate, Carissa Lutzow, wasn’t home at the time, and their pets were safe.

Fire officials believe the cause of the fire was a household AC unit.

Investigator Michael Schnaper urges those with AC window units to watch out for the warning signs.

“If it’s starting to make weird noises, if it’s putting out hot air instead of cold air, if you know, to sparking, if you notice anything with the outlet, because those AC window units can draw a lot of power,” said Schnapper.

Schnapper said that these warning signs are here for a reason.

“If you don’t act on those things, in terms of fire, you’re eventually going to roll the dice one too many times, and then you end up with a fire in your structure,” explained Schnapper.

Both roommates have received help from the community. Foust said she’s grateful to be here.

“I didn’t know the type of community that I was a part of, and you don’t realize how lucky you are until something like this happens,” said Foust.

To help Anne and Carissa, visit their GoFundMe page.