A Georgia homeowner has told how a quick-thinking passerby saved her from a fire last month by kicking in a locked storm door.
David McConnell said FOX5 Atlanta On the afternoon of Oct. 29, she was taking a nap at her Winterville home when she woke up to noises coming from the kitchen.
“I heard a crackling, crackling, crackling sound,” McConnell said, adding that he thought the sound would go away and went back to sleep.
McConnell first realized something was wrong when the fire alarm went off. He told the media that he jumped out of bed and found thick smoke engulfing the house.
“I couldn't see out the back door or out the window,” McConnell said. “That was pretty scary.”
McConnell said she tried to leave the house through the front door but found the shutters were locked.
Good Samaritan Dylan Betts, who was driving by on his way home from work, saw the smoke, stopped his car and rushed to help.
“I tore it open and kicked it in,” Betts said of the locked shutters.
Betts said he walked into the house through a “thick wall of black smoke” and started screaming.
“Mr. Luckily, David heard me and came to me right away,” Betts told FOX5.
When the outlet asked Betts why he would risk his life to save a stranger, Betts replied: That's America. ”
McConnell said his family called Betts “our hero” and even gave him tickets to a Georgia-Tennessee football game as a small thank you for saving his life. he said.
The fire started in a garage and spread throughout the building, according to the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived and found the situation deteriorating, including a collapsed roof. No injuries were reported.
