An Avondale family is thankful to be alive after their home went up in flames on New Year’s Day and were saved by a neighbor who saw smoke shooting out from their rooftop.
The neighbor’s quick thinking was caught on camera.
It was the smell and sight of smoke that got Carolyn Palisch curious to check on her neighbors on New Year’s Day morning. “I went out the door and as I went out the door, I saw the flames coming out from the garage and of course I ran and started banging on the door,” she said.
Inside the home was a family of six.
“My husband and four kids. We were all dead asleep, woken up to banging on the door. It sounded like the police,” Nicole Salgado said.
In the Ring Doorbell video, you can see and hear a panicked Palisch as she tried her hardest to get everyone out.
“I didn’t know how many kids were inside and I was waking them up either way and I woke them up and I didn’t yell ‘fire’ because I didn’t want to scare them,” Palisch said.
The home and the family car are completely damaged. The home’s roof caved in, and smoke and water damage made the home unliveable.
“We lost everything. We lost a car. We both work in the medical field and I’m a student and we have four kids and we’re just rebuilding and grateful to be alive,” Salgado said.
The fire is believed to have begun in the attic area, but a cause hasn’t been determined.
