MANSFIELD, N.J. — A firefighter was off duty, but not off the job when he raced to make sure nobody was inside his neighbor’s house when it caught fire.
Henry Roldan Jr. is a volunteer firefighter and told KYW-TV that he began banging on the door when he saw flames to alert the resident inside to come out.
“He’s lucky to be alive, thank God, but he got himself out of the house,” Roldan told KYW-TV. “I did kick the front door in, just to get a quick glance and check for other occupants.”
Video from WZBN shared on YouTube shows the massive fire that consumed the house and sent flames through the windows of the structure.
Neighbors told WPVI that the resident of the home had been asleep when the fire started, and credited Roldan with saving the life of the person inside.
It took 75 firefighters nearly an hour to get the flames under control because the neighborhood has no fire hydrants, KYW-TV reported. The fire marshal estimated the fire started 15 to 20 minutes before Roldan jumped into action.
The fire marshal told KYW-TV that the fire likely started outside the home before spreading inside, and investigators will work to determine what sparked it.