It was a close call Monday for a West Palm Beach family whose house caught fire with two people inside, including a baby.
They didn’t even know their house was on fire until a man and his friend who lives across the street ran over and got them out in time.
Before 35 West Palm Beach Fire Rescue firefighters could get to Denise Ryan’s next door neighbor, at the corner of Windsor and 30th Monday afternoon, it was a heavily involved fire.
“The smoke was so thick, you could cut it with a knife,” said Denise Ryan, who lives nearby the burned out home at the corner of Windsor Lane and 30th Street in West Palm Beach.
RELATED: FFS reminds people to be prepared for fires
Keandre Lillard and his friend were walking home when they ran across the street.
“I seen smoke, you know? We didn’t know where it was coming from. It looked like it was coming off the roof, so me and my friend, we ran in,” he said.
“I called the fire department three times,” Ryan said.
Inside, a woman, a baby, and a cat.
“The flames were fully engulfed. Red and orange flames,” she said.
“(The woman inside the home) was like what’s going on? I’m like your house is on fire,” Lillard said after knocking on her door.
“I mean fully engulfed,” Ryan said.
“I’m thinking like, if we don’t help her, she could get hurt. Like seriously bad,” Lillard said. “She ran and she fell. She got back up. We ran in, she grabbed the baby, we got her out safely”
“Thank god that they’re alive. That’s all that matters. Lives matter more than anything else. You can replace materialistic things,” Ryan said.
“It feels great, I feel like a hero!” Lillard said, flexing his arms.
Cupcake the cat also made it out alive.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by West Palm Beach Fire Rescue. An arson investigator was seen on scene.