An anonymous runner alerted a California family through their Ring doorbell and heroically saved their pets from a house fire. The family has publicly honored the jogger.
The family’s two dachshunds, rabbit, and cat were all spared from the fire, which was eventually restricted to the garage, thanks to the jogging.
When the jogger rang the doorbell, Courtney Polito was informed of the perilous circumstance. Polito gave the jogger the code to her home after overhearing the smoke alarm in the distance, enabling him to enter and save the animals.
“I saw him running back and forth,” Scotts Valley homeowner Polito told ABC7. “So I answered it and she said, ‘Hello, do you see there’s smoke coming out of the top of your house?'”
“The fire department said 10 more minutes and the house would have gone,” she said.
The Polito family noted that the jogger, miraculously had no second thoughts about entering the house to save the animals. Tony Polito, Polito’s husband, said: “It takes a unique sort of person to go inside a burning house to save animals.
The house has smoke damage everywhere, along with ruined cabinets, Christmas presents, and their Chevy Blazer, even though the animals were saved in time.
The local fire department told ABC7 that it’s the first time they’ve seen a passerby use a Ring doorbell in this way.
“This is the first for our agency where someone uses a Ring doorbell system to alert 911 and the homeowners,” said Andrew LoFranco, Scotts Valley Battalion Chief.
Despite being the one to save the day, the anonymous jogger left before the family could meet or thank him, but they’re hoping they will be able to return the favor soon.
“I want to give him a hug. I’ll bring him to lunch. I’ll bring him dinner. I don’t know…I just want to thank him so much and let him know how thankful we are. My kids, my husband, we would be devastated if we lost our pets let alone our home,” said Polito.
The jogger’s face was obscured by ABC7 at the family’s request, but he was dressed in a yellow t-shirt with a star on it and a beanie that said “Arizona.”
In June, a Ring doorbell safety warning from an Amazon delivery woman to a family after she suggested they plainly display their house numbers went viral.
Amazon driver Kelsey could be seen approaching the property and offering tips on how to make it safer in a video uploaded to the home owner’s TikTok account.
In a sing-song tune, she said: “Hello Jennifer, I hope your Monday is going well. You have no markers on your house, and that [makes it] hard to find your house.”
“What if you needed medical assistance and the paramedics didn’t know your town well, come on man,” she added. “Have a great day.”
Watch the video below:
