A Las Vegas family is searching for an unidentified man who they say saved their lives by waking them and helping them escape a destructive house fire in the early hours of July 5. The man alerted the sleeping family to the blaze, pounded on their front door, and even attempted to fight the flames before disappearing without a trace.
The fire broke out shortly before 5 a.m. at the family's home in the Las Vegas Valley. Homeowner Danna Shabtai stated she had gone to bed after asking children in the neighborhood to stop setting off fireworks near her property on the night of July 4.
Hours later, Shabtai was awakened by persistent knocking and shouting at her front door. "My dog started barking, so I woke up and I stumbled to the door," Shabtai told Fox News Digital. "I opened the door and the gentleman was yelling, ‘Fire! Fire!'"
Upon opening the door, Shabtai saw flames engulfing the backyard. She described it as "a wall of orange." Her sister immediately grabbed a garden hose to try and combat the fire, while Shabtai rushed to alert their neighbors, banging on their windows and doors.
The mysterious stranger then reportedly went to a neighbor's yard, took their garden hose, and attempted to douse the flames spreading from the Shabtai residence. "So not only did he wake us up, he was trying to put out the fire with my sister," Shabtai said.
Shabtai believes the stranger's timely intervention prevented a more severe outcome. "If he wasn’t driving by at that time, I don’t know. It would have been a lot worse before we would have even noticed or woken up that there was a fire," she stated. "You saved probably two households and a bunch of pets because it would have been way too far gone before we would have realized," she added, speaking to the unknown man. "You saved our lives. You’re a hero."
The family has since used social media to try and identify the man, hoping to express their gratitude in person. "You’re an angel. You saved our lives, and I’m really thankful for everything that you did," Shabtai said.
While the official cause of the fire has not been determined, Shabtai suspects it may have been caused by fireworks. She recalled hearing debris on a neighbor's gazebo and seeing what she believed to be a glowing ember drift toward a roof before going to bed. She thinks the ember may have smoldered for hours before igniting the fire.
Shabtai expressed frustration over the potential cause, noting in a Facebook post, "This is why you leave fireworks to the professionals." She also shared images of the fire's aftermath, indicating that while her family was fortunate to remain in their home, neighbors were displaced.