Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City neighborhood celebrated a group of boys whose quick action saved a neighbor's home from catching fire.
The neighborhood on Oneida Street and 2100 South is a close-knit community. On Saturday, residents said they were extra grateful for the group of boys that decided to go outside for a game.
"We were going to play video games, but then we decided to play outside," said Jack Marsh.
Jack and his friends went out to play laser tag around 7:30 p.m. Friday. It ended up being a game they will never forget.
"I just remember smelling smoke and fire and (thought) who's doing a BBQ right now?" Jack said.
The boys quickly realized something was off.
"The smell was like burnt rubber," said Severin Gerhardt.
"I saw like a kind of glowing fire thing in the Kneaderhouse's garage," Jack said.
The neighbor's car was on fire and the flames were quickly spreading inside the garage.
A group of boys decided to ditch their playstation for a game outside. It's a choice they will never forget... when they spotted their neighbor's garage on fire. @KSL5TV#littlegiants#everydayheroespic.twitter.com/J61qoUMM5n
— Garna Mejia KSL (@GarnaMejiaKSL) March 7, 2021
"I ran into the house and told my sister to call 911," he said.
"It blew up! It basically just absorbed the entire garage!" said Jack's sister, Maya Marsh.
The boys quickly jumped into action.
"I went inside and ran really fast and got my dad and the fire extinguisher and quickly ran over there," said Jacob Gerhardt.
"Our dad then went in to actually try to extinguish the fire," said Severin. "He immediately runs back out when he hears a boom."
"The entire neighborhood was red from all the light from the fire," said Maya. "Six fire trucks came!"
Firefighters arrived just in time to contain the flames before anyone was injured at Steve Niederhauser's home.
"It would've burned probably another 15-20 minutes before anyone spotted it," he said.
Steve said he was grateful the little giants decided to play outside.
"They certainly saved the day for us," Niederhauser said.
The boys said they were just at the right place at the right time.
"It was good, but at the same time, ahhhh!" said Laurenz Gerhardt.
Officials said it appears the fire started in the car's engine, even though it was off, adding that it was likely due to a brake fluid leak.
The homeowner said they would be contacting the manufacture.
