Incredible video has captured the moment a heroic neighbor rang a family’s doorbell in an attempt to save their lives in the middle of the night.
Jonathan Pope’s young family was peacefully sleeping just before midnight on September 20 at their Toms River, New Jersey home when they were abruptly awakened.
Their alarmed neighbor, Josh, raced over and urgently rang the doorbell while pounding on the door upon noticing flames emerging from the house.
The heroic moment was captured on the Popes’ Ring doorbell camera.
Video footage captures Josh at the doorway, ringing the bell and shouting for the family to evacuate the home. As a piece of debris falls on him, he steps back into the front yard, and the video transitions from black and white to color.
Pope and his wife can then be seen running out of the house bathed in orange light from the fire as ash and embers fall around them.
‘I just hear, boom, boom, boom, pounding on the garage,’ Pope told NBC New York.
“It sounded like a vehicle was crashing into my garage. At first, I thought someone was breaking in, so I hurried out to take a quick look. Then I saw someone at the front door surrounded by lights,” Pope explained.
Jonathan Pope and his family were asleep when a neighbor saw fire consuming their home and ran over to warn them
The Pope family’s Ring doorbell camera captured their neighbor’s heroic action and their escape from the fire
The whole family escaped unharmed, but the fire severely damaged their home, rendering it unsafe to live in
Josh can be heard shouting: ‘Get out of the house! Get out of the house! There’s a fire!’
Pope further described the situation: “Everything was illuminated, and debris was falling on him. I yelled to my wife, ‘Hey, grab the baby.’ She rushed out initially. I ensured she was safe, and then I followed.”
Pope’s family members revealed they were in the back bedroom, unaware of the fire until their neighbor’s loud warnings alerted them to the danger.
Thanks to the neighbor’s decisive actions, Pope, his wife, their 17-year-old, nine-month-old and the family’s dog all escaped unharmed.
Pope said he was ‘so thankful’ towards his neighbors Josh and Lori, who were named by News12 New Jersey. ‘They saved our family,’ he said.
After the fire, the surrounding community further helped the Pope family by bringing them water and giving them a place to change their baby.
Matthew Janora, chief fire inspector for the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention, said the fire began outside the home when improperly discarded smoking materials ignited carboard boxes and a trash bin before spreading to the garage, porch, attic and second floor bedroom. Fire department officials determined the cause was accidental.
Several fire companies responded to the scene and brought the blaze under control
The family escaped with both of their children, a nine-month-old baby and a 17-year-old high school senior
The family’s dog also made it out of the fire unharmed
Several fire companies responded and managed to bring the blaze under control. No one was injured.
The fire significantly damaged the home and it was declared unsafe to live in by the township’s building department.
The Pope family escaped with nothing but their lives and the clothing on their backs. They have been receiving aid from the American Red Cross, and they set up an online fundraiser while waiting for their insurance company to assist them.
‘We’re devastated, but also deeply grateful to our neighbor, the first responders, and the Red Cross,’ Pope told Jersey Shore Hurricane News. ‘Without them, this could have been so much worse.’
