PINE HILLS, Fl. — Six members of a Pine Hills family have a stranger to thank for saving their lives, after a fast-moving fire destroyed their home.
That man told WFTV he saw the smoke and rushed to the front door past a burning van in order to get everybody out.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire, but the family believes it may have started in the van parked in the driveway.
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Sam Galiley and his family are trying to pick up the pieces after the fire destroyed their Pine Hills home and their two cars Friday morning.
“Go inside and help my wife with my daughters and all of a sudden I'm in the room with them and the dogs start freaking out,” Galiley said. “I run outside, there is a guy [knocking] on our door to tell us the house was on fire.”
The stranger not only alerted them to the fire, but helped get Sam's wife, two young daughters, Amelia and Aria, his mom and dad, who are wheelchair bound and their two dogs out of the house.
“I came out and I was holding a girl in each arm and he just wrapped his arms around me and the girls and pulled us across the street," Galiley said.
The man who sprang into action disappeared just as quickly.
“I can't express how thankful I am to the guy,” Galiley said. “I don't know his name and I feel bad the guy just knocked and let us know, cause he had to go past the van that was on fire to knock on our door."
The stranger, Bakari Edwards, returned to perform his second good deed of the day, delivering two boxes of diapers for the family who lost everything.
“I just saw people in need of help and they were about to die and it was getting out of control,” Edwards said.
The Red Cross is assisting the families, but they could still use some help. Especially with clothes.
Their daughter only had a diaper on when they ran from the burning home.
#Video #workingfire crews making progress on knockdown, 6 people and 2 dogs got out safely. pic.twitter.com/U0MmIa1GJP
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) March 8, 2019
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