SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Working smoke detectors probably saved the lives of a man and his daughter from a burning house early this morning, fire officials said.

Michael D. Grossman and his daughter were sleeping upstairs when the alarm went off about 3 a.m. inside the two-story home at 562 New Castle Road.

“They came downstairs and saw the wall on fire in the living room,” said Chief Albert Taggart of the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company. “They didn’t have time to get anything. They got right out.”

By the time the first crews got there, the two-story, wood frame house was “on the ground,” Taggart said.

“They were lucky to get out,” he said. ”I would say the smoke detectors saved them.”

“It looks electrical,” Taggart said, “but the (state police) fire marshal is coming in later today to take a look at it.”

Grossman was in the process of buying the older house, owned by Eagle Excavation in Center Township, authorities said. The owner has insurance on the home, which was destroyed, according to firefighters. They estimated damages at $75,000.

Grossman apparently did not have renter’s insurance.