MAN ALERTS RESIDENTS TO THEIR HOUSE BEING ON FIRE

 

Photos by BRIAN WOODS

Elyria - An Elyria man is being called a hero by residents on Bon-Air tonight after he alerted residents of a home on Bon-Air that their house was on fire.

Route 57 might separate the 500 block of Wesley Ave where Tim Young lives and the 400 block of Bon-Air where a house was on fire was but that didn't stop Young from springing into action Friday night.

Young said he was on his way to do some car shopping when he saw heavy smoke. "I was on Abbe at 57 when I first saw the smoke coming over the trees. At first I thought maybe someone was just burning stuff in their back yard but then as I got to Abbe and Sycamore I could see fire coming from the back of a house."

After spotting the flames Young quickly turned around and made his way to the house. He said he didn't see anyone around the house but did see a car in the driveway and the front door was open. "I first had my sister in law call 9-1-1 to report the fire and I ran to the front door. The big door was open but the screen door was closed and locked. I began yelling into the house but there was no response. I tried to get the door open but I couldn't so I figured the best I could do is pound as hard as I can on that door and make as much noise as possible."

Young's pounding proved to be the winner - the resident, Matt Stinson, who had fallen asleep in the breezeway between the house and the garage woke up. "All of a sudden I heard a guy yelling from the side of the house asking what I was doing. I told him that he needed to get out that his house was on fire."

Assistant Chief Ron Brlas of the Elyria Fire Department said two people inside of the home and their dog were able to make it out of the house safely.

The home is owned by Stinson’s parents who live in Arizona but have been in town visiting. They had left the house earlier in the evening but left a scented candle burning in a second floor bathroom according to Brlas. The fire had spread into a second floor bedroom by the time Young had spotted the blaze.

Young said that while he was pounding on the door an upstairs window blew out. Brlas said that was caused by the extreme heat and that it was good that Young was there because the fire was receiving new life with the air entering the house. Young then praised Firefighters for arriving so quickly. “It seemed like they were here in like 2 minutes – they rushed into that house and did a great job.” Brlas said the fire itself was knocked down in about 10 minutes.

The fire remains under investigation but Brlas believes the total damages will exceed $50K.

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