A Scotts Valley family, California, credits a jogger for saving them and their four pets from a flames.
Paul Murphy saw the Polito family’s garage on fire as he passed by and immediately alerted the homeowners through their doorbell camera. The family was not in town at the time.
He ran up to the front door and rang it, but he received a recorded message. Then, a woman answered.
“Hello. There’s smoke coming out of the top of your house,” Paul told Courtney Polito. She asked him after he ran back and forth in front the house.
Courtney heard the smoke alarms through the camera and immediately gave the security code to the man to get inside. Their two Dachshunds (dachshunds), rabbit and cat were trapped on 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 entered the code and ran into the burning house to rescue the animals. He was soon surrounded by furry animals and emerged from the burning home with his arms full. He returned to his home to retrieve the rest of the furry animals. Everyone was safe, thankfully.
“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. There was smoke damage to the house, which caused damage to cabinets and destroyed 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 a thank you to the Good Samaritan but he ran after saving 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.”
Murphy wore a yellow Tshirt with a star at the front and back, and a dark-colored beanie that had what appeared to have been an outline of Arizona on it. He also had a distinctive accent.
If the man hadn’t been there to alert them of the fire, the family would have lost everything. Their house would have been destroyed by the fire department if they had not given them another 10 minutes.
Another rescue story featured a single mother with her four children, aged 4, 6, 12 and 9 months.
Mikala Vishi suffered second-and third-degree burns after she got all her children out from their home when a fire broke out on the morning October 26.
The Dexter Fire Department was first to arrive on the scene. They saw Mikala removing a child from the home and then rushing back inside to retrieve all 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 son, Torin, were hurt by the fire. The youngster sustained severe burns on his arms and hands. Both are still being treated, and both are making incredible progress. Their skin grafts are progressing well.
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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