SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake mom says her neighbor's quick response is what saved her house and the two boys staying there after a fire started in the garage Monday evening.
Her neighbor, Mike Mestas, was outside his duplex that is just a few doors away from the home at 1054 E. Norris (230 South) when he smelled smoke around 7 p.m.
He ran to the house and knocked on the door, awakening a 17-year-old boy and alerting the other occupant, a 16-year-old boy visiting from Michigan.
"Mike, my neighbor, I owe him a lot," said Laura Larsen, who had been running an errand with her 5-year-old daughter when the fire started. "I'm so grateful."
Mestas started spraying the detached garage with water while another neighbor called 911.
Salt Lake City fire crews arrived and called for a second alarm. The fire was contained within eight minutes but not before the fire had spread to the attic of the house.
Officials have not yet determined a cause of the fire but estimate damage at about $50,000.
— Lana Groves