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LAYTON — Complete strangers helped save a family from a house fire Tuesday.
The fire broke shortly after 6 a.m. in the 2700 block of North Marvin Way in Layton.
“We were asleep and heard pounding on our front door,” said homeowner Michelle Montierth.
She said at that moment she found two people on her front door step.
“A young couple and they were just yelling at us, ‘Your house is on fire! Get out!’ she said.
Montierth immediately woke her granddaughter and husband and escaped the fire.
“Just as we got out, we heard a loud explosion,” she said.
Layton Fire Department officials said the explosion may have been a battery that was charging and overheated. The fire started under the back patio and then spread inside the home.
“It’s certainly going to be in the tens of thousands of dollars,” LFD Battalion Chief Jason Cook said. “We’re happy, though, that the home is not going to be a complete loss.”
Firefighters also saved prized possessions no dollar amount could ever replace.
“They pulled out some mementos,” said Montierth, who is also an artist and a high school art teacher. “They came and told me they got some family pictures.”
“They pulled out some of my paintings I’ve been working on for over a year,” she added.
Montierth said above all her family is grateful they are safe and for an act of heroism from complete strangers.
“We just wanted to say ‘Thank you’ to them for knocking on our door and saving our lives,” she said. “We’re really grateful.”
Cook said the home had working smoke alarms, but since the fire started outside, they initially didn’t go off. Officials said the blaze does not appear to be suspicious.
