A family from Scotts Valley, California, is crediting a jogger for saving their home and four pets from a fire.
Paul Murphy saw the Polito family’s garage on fire as he passed by and immediately alerted the homeowners through their doorbell camera. However, the family was out of town at the time.
He ran up to their front door and rang the doorbell but got a recorded message. Then, a woman answered.
“Hello. There’s smoke coming out of the top of your house,” Paul told Courtney Polito. She answered it after she saw him running back and forth in front of the home.
Courtney heard the smoke alarms going off through the camera and promptly gave the man the security code to get inside. Their two Dachshunds, rabbit, and cat were trapped inside the property.
“It was terrifying. When I answered the doorbell and saw the smoke, I panicked immediately,” Courtney told Inside Edition.
“The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘Get my pets out of the house, please,’” she added.
Paul typed in the code and rushed inside the burning home without hesitation to rescue the animals. Moments later, he emerged with his arms full of furry animals. He then went back inside for more to retrieve the rest. Thankfully, everyone was safe.
“It takes a special kind of person go into a burning house to save animals,” Tony Polito said.
Because of the jogger’s quick actions, the fire didn’t spread beyond the garage. However, there is smoke damage throughout the house, damaged cabinets, and ruined Christmas presents. The family’s Chevy Blazer was damaged, too.
According to Scotts Valley Fire Battalion Chief Andrew LoFranco, this is “the first for our agency where someone uses a Ring doorbell system to alert the 911 and the homeowners.”
The Polito family wanted to thank the Good Samaritan, but he took off after rescuing their pets.
“I want to give him a hug. I’ll bring him to lunch. I’ll bring him dinner,” Courtney said. “I don’t know… I just want to thank him so much and let him know how thankful we are. My kids, my husband we would be devastated if we lost our pets let alone our home.”
That day, Murphy wore a yellow T-shirt with a star on the front and back and a dark-colored beanie with what appeared to be an outline of the state of Arizona on it. And he had a distinct accent.
If the man hadn’t been there to alert them of the fire, the family would have lost everything. The fire department said 10 more minutes, and their house would have been gone.
Another heroic rescue story involved a single mother and her four children, ages 4, 6, 12, and 9 months.
Mikala Vish suffered second- and third-degree burns after getting all of her kids out when a fire broke out in their home on the morning of October 26.
The Dexter Fire Department was the first to arrive at the scene and witnessed Mikala getting a child out of the home before rushing back inside to retrieve the others.
“She is an absolute hero for how she saved all her children,” said Chelsea Area Fire Authority Capt. Scott Basar.
Only Mikala and her six-year-old, Torin, suffered injuries from the fire. The youngster sustained severe burns to his hands and arms. Both are still being treated and showing incredible progress. Their skin graft surgeries are looking good.
Click here if you want to learn more about Mikala’s story and how you can help.
Check out the video below to see how the jogger saved the Polito family’s home and pets.
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