(Trends Wide) — Members of a family in Red Oak, Iowa, were able to escape the flames at their home after a driver, who mistakenly pulled onto their street, saw the fire and rushed to wake them up.
Brendon Birt told Trends Wide that he was out driving a friend home in the early hours of Oct. 23, when he took the wrong turn and landed right in front of the Red Oak home.
It was around 2 in the morning, so he guessed there were probably people inside.
He called 911 and walked to the side of the house and started banging on the windows.
“I was screaming and screaming, trying to wake them up because I thought someone was in the house,” Birt said. “I just acted…there was no time to waste, I realized it was now or never,” she added.
Security camera footage from the doorbell shows flames spreading across the property in Red Oak, Iowa, on Oct. 23, as the home’s occupants run into the yard. (Credit: Ring.com)
Security camera video on the home’s doorbell showed the flames quickly spreading across the porch before the brothers ran out of the house and into the yard.
Sisters Kindred, 17, Spirit, 14, and their younger brother Chris, 8, got out first. Her older brother, Bryce, ran through the smoke and fire a minute later.
“I found a furnace of heat and flames in the front, on the front wall,” the 22-year-old told Trends Wide affiliate KETV.
His mother, Tender Lehman, told Trends Wide she was about 0.8 miles away in Montana at the time, tending to a family emergency. Her husband was working across the state.
“It was horrible. I immediately called my kids and FaceTimed the firefighters and stuff,” she said. “And yes, it was crazy, but they were safe and that was the main thing.”
Lehman said her mother drove her home in record time to get back to her children.
Lehman said it was a miracle that Birt was in the area and was able to wake everyone up.
Birt, 26, said firefighters arrived shortly after everyone left the house, but the fire had spread very quickly.
“They told me the steps to go down when they ran out the door were already on fire,” he said. “So (if) another five minutes passed, I don’t think they would have come out.”
Red Oak firefighters have not yet determined the cause of the fire.
While the brothers made it out safely, Lehman said five of the family’s dogs, two of which were emotional support animals, were killed in the fire.
In addition, he added that they speak with Birt every day and that they are helping each other heal from the experience.
A friend lent them a trailer so that Lehman, her husband, the four children and the two dogs who survived the fire would have a place to stay.
Lehman said they were uninsured due to a problem with the roof, but had planned to fix it within the next month.
They lost everything in the fire.
Their mother created a GoFundMe campaign to help them recover.
Lehman said the children are grieving their pets and missing the life they used to have, but are doing well.
“You know, they’re amazing. They’re amazing, amazing kids and the level of maturity that all of them showed as a result of that just amazes me,” she said.
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(Trends Wide) — Members of a family in Red Oak, Iowa, were able to escape the flames at their home after a driver, who mistakenly pulled onto their street, saw the fire and rushed to wake them up.
Brendon Birt told Trends Wide that he was out driving a friend home in the early hours of Oct. 23, when he took the wrong turn and landed right in front of the Red Oak home.
It was around 2 in the morning, so he guessed there were probably people inside.
He called 911 and walked to the side of the house and started banging on the windows.
“I was screaming and screaming, trying to wake them up because I thought someone was in the house,” Birt said. “I just acted…there was no time to waste, I realized it was now or never,” she added.
Security camera footage from the doorbell shows flames spreading across the property in Red Oak, Iowa, on Oct. 23, as the home’s occupants run into the yard. (Credit: Ring.com)
Security camera video on the home’s doorbell showed the flames quickly spreading across the porch before the brothers ran out of the house and into the yard.
Sisters Kindred, 17, Spirit, 14, and their younger brother Chris, 8, got out first. Her older brother, Bryce, ran through the smoke and fire a minute later.
“I found a furnace of heat and flames in the front, on the front wall,” the 22-year-old told Trends Wide affiliate KETV.
His mother, Tender Lehman, told Trends Wide she was about 0.8 miles away in Montana at the time, tending to a family emergency. Her husband was working across the state.
“It was horrible. I immediately called my kids and FaceTimed the firefighters and stuff,” she said. “And yes, it was crazy, but they were safe and that was the main thing.”
Lehman said her mother drove her home in record time to get back to her children.
Lehman said it was a miracle that Birt was in the area and was able to wake everyone up.
Birt, 26, said firefighters arrived shortly after everyone left the house, but the fire had spread very quickly.
“They told me the steps to go down when they ran out the door were already on fire,” he said. “So (if) another five minutes passed, I don’t think they would have come out.”
Red Oak firefighters have not yet determined the cause of the fire.
While the brothers made it out safely, Lehman said five of the family’s dogs, two of which were emotional support animals, were killed in the fire.
In addition, he added that they speak with Birt every day and that they are helping each other heal from the experience.
A friend lent them a trailer so that Lehman, her husband, the four children and the two dogs who survived the fire would have a place to stay.
Lehman said they were uninsured due to a problem with the roof, but had planned to fix it within the next month.
They lost everything in the fire.
Their mother created a GoFundMe campaign to help them recover.
Lehman said the children are grieving their pets and missing the life they used to have, but are doing well.
“You know, they’re amazing. They’re amazing, amazing kids and the level of maturity that all of them showed as a result of that just amazes me,” she said.
