NOTTINGHAM, Md. — She was driving down the road and saw a fire on the front porch of a house, with no emergency vehicles in sight and a family inside, unaware there was even a fire.
Thankfully, a woman in Nottingham jumped into action and came to the rescue.
It's a rare occurrence that you have a house fire with a happy ending, but one Good Samaritan’s quick actions saved a family’s life.
Elizabeth Fabian says on February 5, she was driving by a house on Joppa Road and saw the front porch was engulfed in flames.
"I was coming down Joppa Road here and it was dark so I could see what was happening up ahead, there was a little bit of flickering and as I came around the bend I could see that the front of their house was actually on fire," said Fabian, who rescued the family.
She noticed a family inside, having no idea of the flames on their front porch.
That's when she jumped into action.
Fabian said, "So I jumped out I figured out what the address was and called 911, reported the fire and ran to the back to help get the family out.”
"When I heard Elizabeth banging on the back door I was like who in the world is knocking on my door at 7:00 on a Sunday. I got up, I just came face to face with Elizabeth and she was just like your house is on fire you have to get out now,” said Rene Debelius, who owns the house.
Seven people and two animals escaped through the back, but the heroic actions didn't stop there.
"A neighbor walked up and he said come with me I need your help, and we ran around the side of the house and we actually grabbed the hose that's attached to the house and we were able to run around front and put out some of the fire,” said Fabian.
The fire department was able to put out the rest of the fire with minimal damage to the house.
"We are just so incredibly fortunate that Elizabeth was in the right place at the right time. She's the guardian angel that every neighborhood deserves,” expressed Debelius.
Fabian says it's something she just hopes someone would do for her.
"There's no words to describe how grateful we are for you,” said Debelius as she hugged Fabian.
Fabian responded, "Well you are very welcome, I’m so glad to help. I'm glad there was a happy ending to an otherwise bad situation.”
Debelius says the fire was started by a family member who was smoking on the front porch and didn't put the cigarette out all the way.
