By The Hays Daiiy News

A fire Friday morning in Hays could have ended badly were it not for the smoke alarm, according to the Hays Fire Department.

Firefighters were dispatched to a fire at a house in the 1200 block of Maple at approximately 9 a.m.

Capt. Justin Kilian said the likely cause was a 4-year-old in the house playing with fire while the three adult occupants of the house were sleeping.

A broom burning in the kitchen set off the smoke detector and woke the adults. The child had hidden under a bed in a back bedroom, Kilian said.

"That's pretty common, even if they aren't the cause," of the fire, he said.

"If that alarm wouldn't have woken them up, it would have escalated pretty fast," Kilian said.

The adults probably would have made it out of the house, but the child would have been difficult to find had the fire grown, Kilian said.

"This could have been major damage and possibly the loss of a child," he said.

One of the adults went after the flames with a fire extinguisher, while another called 911.

The Hays Fire Department can assist residents with installing or replacing batteries in smoke alarms. The fire department also can provide residents with free smoke alarms, and Kilian said those should be available after the first of the year.