Neighbor Wakes Fire Victims

Four adults and an 18-month-old girl escaped a burning house Monday after a neighbor broke in and warned them of the fire.

The blaze broke out in the garage of the rental house near Freya and Upriver about 2:10 a.m., said Battalion Chief Joe Stapleton of the Spokane Fire Department.

The flames quickly spread to the house where the residents were sleeping, Stapleton said.

Lewis Dennis, who lives nearby, saw the fire and pounded on the door. When no one answered, Dennis broke in and roused everyone, Stapleton said.

The residents - Robin Eldred, Lois Sordahl, Laura Eldred, Theodore McCullum and the infant, Danielle Riordan - got out unharmed.

The blaze destroyed the garage and heavily damaged the kitchen and roof.

Robin Eldred credited Dennis with saving his family.

“It makes you think differently about the world with people like him around,” Eldred said. “If it wasn’t for him, we probably would have died.”

, DataTimes