CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
A Flour Bluff resident arrived home to find their house in flames, but brave neighbors had already jumped into action and saved the family pets.
The family of four who lived at a home on the 3100 block of Mill Brook Dr. is safe, after a fire broke out at their home just after 2 p.m. Thursday. Fire departments from Corpus Christi and Flour Bluff arrived and had the fire out within minutes, but the residents were left with lots of damage.
The owner had just dropped off her daughter at a friend's house. When she arrived home, she discovered the entire front of her balcony on fire.
Most of the home was saved because of the quick response from firefighters, but before crews arrived, neighbors who spotted the smoke actually jumped into action.
Arnold Aguirre lives behind the home saw the smoke, and actually went inside of the home to make sure everyone was out, and in the process saved two of the family's dogs, one of which was blind. That neighbor then grabbed a water hose to put water on the fire.
Aguirre said there was a lot of smoke, and that he rushed over because they knew the owners of that home and were concerned that there could be people in the house.
"Thank God they were here," said Sharon Harding, the owner of the home. She could not believe how fast the fire spread. "It looked really small at first. I couldn't figure out how to work the water hose, and it wasn't going to cut it. It was that quick."
While most of the damage was to the outside balcony area and the attic, firefighters had to cut the electricity off to the home. As a result, Harding, her husband and two teen children will have to stay with friends or family for the night.
The good news is that the family does have insurance.
As to what sparked the fire, officials said it appears to be accidental, and was possibly caused by a cigarette.
