Good samaritan sees strangers' home on fire, runs in to save their pets

Many homeowners have upgraded to smart video doorbells, allowing them to get a look at whoever comes to the door. These cameras can sometimes pick up some very unexpected sightings.

But one recent story shows how they can be used to save a life, after a good samaritan got in touch with a family to alert them that their home was on fire — and allowing him to save the furry friends trapped inside.

Courtney Polito and her husband Tony were out of town when their Scotts Valley, California home caught on fire, according to KYMA. With no one home, only a bystander jogging by the house noticed it.

The stranger rang the family’s Ring video doorbell. While they weren’t home, he was able to get in contact with them through the video feed.

The call proved to be life-saving: it turned out the family’s pets — two dachshunds, a rabbit and a cat — were inside the home.

The jogger stepped up to be a hero, offering to go inside the home and get them out. The family gave him their home code, and he ran inside.

The homeowners couldn’t believe his kindness: “It takes a special kind of person go into a burning house to save animals,” Tony told KYMA.

The jogger got the pets out safe and sound, and soon the fire department arrived to put out the blaze.

While the fire did some damage to the garage and destroyed some Christmas presents, the bystander helped prevent a full disaster, both by saving the animals and alerting the fire department in time.

“The fire department said, 10 more minutes and the house would have been gone,” Courtney Polito said.

It was an unusual case: Scotts Valley Battalion Chief Andrew Lofranco told KYMA that it was the first time they had ever seen someone alert a family to a house fire through Ring.

But despite his life-saving heroism, the jogger has remained an anonymous stranger to the family, despite their attempts to thank him.

“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,” Courtney said.

“My kids, my husband we would be devastated if we lost our pets let alone our home.”