'They're true heroes': father says after neighbors save son from fire

'They're true heroes': father says after neighbors save son from fire


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WEST JORDAN — The father of a disabled man who was pulled from his burning home said this Christmas will be unlike any other, thanks to the quick thinking of neighbors and teenage son.

Three men threw a rock through the window of the house, located at 5131 W. Cobble Creek Drive (8330 South) in West Jordan, after being alerted to the fire by Nicholas Galloway, 14. They pulled Andrew Galloway, 27, to safety "just in time," according to Brian Galloway, the father of Nicholas and Andrew.

Two of the men, Daniel and Chris Jakerta, are close friends of the Galloways. But the third man was a stranger.

"He just helped out and disappeared," Brian Galloway said. "You kind of think of an angel type of a person that just showed up and helped."

Galloway said he was at the store when his son called to tell him he heard a beeping noise. He told Nicholas to check it out, thinking their alarm system was perhaps running out of batteries.

"I was at the checkout walking out to come home, and my phone just started going off like crazy," Galloway said. "The neighbors said, ‘You're house is on fire; they got Andrew out.'"

He said Andrew is in a hospital bed right next to his window, which probably helped the three good Samaritans.


You kind of think of an angel type of a person that just showed up and helped.

–Brian Galloway


"You're always afraid of something like this happening, so you try to set things up so if anything ever did happen, you would know right where he was and could get to him from the window," he said.

The men threw a rock through Andrew's window and pulled him to safety as flames licked nearby trees. Two more minutes, the fire department told Galloway, and it may have been too late.

Andrew was taken to Jordan Valley Medical Center to be evaluated and was released in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Nicholas went with him to be by his side, but neither brother suffered injuries during the ordeal.

Galloway said Andrew is "pretty much his normal self, which is good," and Nicholas says he is OK, although a little sad the family's pet bird of 12 years, George, was lost in the fire.

He's well-grounded," Galloway said. "He's not worried about games and all of that stuff. he's just happy his brother's OK."

The fire started in the bedroom of Galloway's 12-year-old stepdaughter, Demri, although firefighters are unsure of the cause. They said it was likely due to an electrical short. Demri, too, is just grateful her brother is OK, even though she lost all of her belongings in the fire.


They did it because it was another human being and they knew they needed to save him, and they did.

–Brian Galloway


"There are a lot of people who say it's a shame stuff like this happens at Christmas time," Galloway said. "It's like, well, you could lose the material things — that's not important."

Galloway said Nicholas and the men who saved Andrew are true heroes for their actions Monday night.

"They didn't do it for recognition. They didn't do it to make themselves look good. They did it because it was another human being and they knew they needed to save him, and they did," he said.

He said the family is staying in a hotel while they try to find a rental that is wheelchair accessible — "That's gonna be the hard part," he said — but neighbors and friends have called to offer anything they can. He said great neighbors are helping to "take a little bit of the edge off" of what happened.

Regardless of their current circumstances, Galloway is just grateful his family remains intact.

"Family is really the most important thing, and that's what makes it, it's going to be one of those Christmases that you know might not've been," he continued. "It's going to be one of the most wonderful thing in the world, because when you think about it, I could have lost both of my boys, and I didn't."

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Stephanie Grimes

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