DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Firefighters responding to a fire at a Deerfield Beach home arrived to see the fire mostly put out thanks to a quick-thinking neighbor.
The fire happened at the home along the 3400 block of Southwest Third Court, just after 10 a.m., Friday.
Alan Potrzuski was inside his home when the neighbor’s dishwasher caught fire.
“I had just woken up, and we heard screaming, and we ran out, and all the ladies of the house — about five or six — were out in the front lawn screaming, smoke coming out of the house,” he said.
However, the family’s grandmother was still inside the home, so Potrzuski ran back to his home and grabbed a respirator, fire extinguisher and a flashlight before rushing into the home.
The 64-year-old Potrzuski saw that the grandmother had escaped to the backyard, so instead, he focused his attention on the burning kitchen appliance.
“Since I had the fire extinguisher with me, I could see the dishwasher in flames, so I ran the thing empty, and it put out the fire,” Potrzuski said.
Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue crews arrived minutes later. The fire was out, and the family and the home were saved.
The only thing that was lost was the dishwasher that had caught fire, officials said.
The fire crew stayed on the scene to ventilate the home and thanked Potrzuski for his swift actions. They hope his heroics will help homeowners realize that fire extinguishers can save lives.
“Definitely should have one,” Potrzuski said. “This one I think is about 30 years old, but it still worked fine, so yeah, just somewhere you can get to it. I’m a believer.”
The state fire marshal will conduct an investigation into what caused the kitchen appliance to catch fire.
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