DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — Three people escaped a burning home in Decatur Saturday night — and the fire department credits their working smoke alarms for saving their lives.

Decatur firefighters responded to a home near N. Union and W Division Streets around 11 p.m. on Saturday. When they arrived, firefighters noted “heavy fire” from two second-floor bedroom windows. The fire department said three adults were inside. They had been asleep, and were woken up by the home’s working smoke detectors.

“Thick black smoke and intense heat initially made their escape difficult, but they were ultimately able to exit the structure safely before firefighters arrived,” fire officials said in a news release.

After the firefighters got the fire under control, they worked to find and extinguish any remaining hotspots.

The home was damaged by fire, smoke and water and is temporarily uninhabitable, the fire department said. Now, the occupants are being helped out by friends and family.

Officials with the Decatur Fire Department are working to learn how — and where — the fire began. Abbott Ambulance, Ameren Illinois and CIRDC assisted.