"It's scary, it's just amazing how quickly things got out of control," said Don Hart.
The Forest Hill man is still shaken up. Around 10AM Sunday he discovered the house was on fire.
"We heard the smoke alarm go off,” said Hart. "Put my robe on and ran downstairs and there was a fire under the table in our dining room."
The family rushed to get out of the Sharon Acres Road house. The fast moving flames were building, and thick smoke was filling up every room.
"So much smoke coming up the steps, I could barely see down the steps,” said Cassidy Bonwit. “So I’m like crawling, inching my way down the steps, and then I see the flame at the bottom of the steps coming like halfway to where the doorway would be for me getting out."
Terrified, she was frozen in place, yelling and screaming that she couldn't get out.
"I heard her screaming, I went and grabbed her and brought her down the steps," Hart said. "Another 30-seconds I wouldn't have been able to get her out because it expanded so quickly."
Thankfully, all ten people inside the home made it out safely, along with the family's three dogs and two cats.
Turns out, the fire was ignited by two boys, ages five and eight, who got into some unexpected mischief. We’re told the kids and their mom stayed overnight with her boyfriend who lives at the house.
"They had gotten a hold of matches and one of them “was playing Godzilla” and wanted to make the fire,” said Hart. “And he did one hell of a job."
The flames tore through the dining room and kitchen, burning furniture, melting plastic and charring the walls. There's heat, smoke and soot damage through the entire house. The State Fire Marshal’s Office estimates the loss is at least $50,000.
The family and their pets are staying at a local hotel as the clean-up starts. The next few months will be challenging, but they’re counting their blessings they avoided a worse tragedy.
Fire officials say that’s thanks to multiple working smoke alarms and quick thinking.
"Everybody was unharmed, we definitely got lucky for sure,” Bonwit said. “So I am very grateful for that."
"Bottom line is the smoke detectors, get them, you need them, they saved our lives," said Hart.
Besides the smoke alarms, the family also closed the front door once they were out, and had doors shut inside the home that stopped the blaze and toxic gas from spreading to other rooms.
Fire officials recommend you install smoke detectors on every level of your home, and test them at least once a month. They also suggest sleeping with bedroom doors closed to trap the heat if a fire sparks, and have a household escape plan.
"It's always important to have a fire escape plan in place, not only draw it up, but you should actually practice it at a minimum twice a year with your family," said Senior Deputy Bruce Bouch from the office of the State Fire Marshal.
Since 2012, fire sprinklers are required for all newly built homes in the state. Experts say they give folks more time to escape, and can also put small fire out.
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