PHOENIX — When Linwood Moore noticed a bunch of flames coming out of a home in his Phoenix neighborhood, he pulled over to help as best he could.
“When I came out and I looked, this roof was on fire. I knew I needed to do something really quick,” Moore said.
Adrenaline kicked in and he contacted 911, not with his cell phone, but with his Life Alert medical device.
“I hit the button and within a minute the representative came on. And I said 'call the fire department!'” Moore said.
The fire occurred near 1st Avenue and Grant Street on Tuesday.
Within 15 minutes, Moore said the house was completely engulfed in flames.
“The heat scorched this side of the car. I’m going to have to take it to a body shop and get it fixed,” according to Moore.
A neighbor, Earl Wilcox, lives a few houses down and said he ran out of his home to make sure his neighborhood was OK.
“He told me that he had heard like three bangs. Like explosions, kind of a thing. And that’s — he got up and he kind of panicked,” Wilcox said.
The Phoenix Fire Department responded, put out the fire, and monitored the site for hot spots throughout the day.
While he's safe, Moore said he had two dogs and seven cats. Three or four of them are currently missing.
"It’s just terrible. It really is,” he said. Moore hopes they were just spooked and ran off and will return home soon.
For now, Moore is navigating the insurance process but is thankful to be OK.
"The good Lord was with me,” he said.
The cause of the fire is unknown. But, fire officials said the home was believed to be undergoing renovations.
