A smoke alarm may have saved the lives of two people who escaped a burning home in North Hall early this morning, a fire official said.

A woman and her son awoke to the sound of the smoke alarm at about 3:20 a.m. at their 1,800-square-foot wood frame home at 1893 North Drive, Hall County Fire Services Division Chief Jerry Smith said. Fire and smoke had consumed the house, but they made a safe escape through a door, he said. "This is the reason we push smoke alarms so hard," Smith said. "Who knows what would have happened if they didn’t have one."

By the time firefighters arrived minutes later, the house was 50 percent engulfed in flames. The home, valued at $175,000, was destroyed, he said.

The names and ages of the occupants were not immediately available. Relatives were providing assistance, Smith said.