WENTZVILLE, Mo. — A Wentzville man is being commended for jumping into action moments before his neighbor's home caught on fire. He banged on their door, waking them up and getting them to safety just in time.
Thirty-four-year-old Glwoan Lee was walking his dog at 11 at night when he knew he had to act. At the time, he noticed a glimmer of light behind a home. He initially thought it was a bonfire.
"I was like 'OK, Monday night, bonfire, no music, nobody's outside. It's kind of weird,” Lee said.
So he got a little closer. "That's when I saw the fire right next to the building flaming up and I called 911 immediately."
He banged on his neighbor's door and windows until they finally woke up.
"At first, the gentlemen answered the door. He was pretty mad. He was like 'What do
you want?'" he said. “I told him 'hurry up. your house is on fire. Hurry up. Get everyone out'."
The eight people inside, including a 3-year-old boy named Henry, each got up and out five minutes before things escalated.
“The whole building was on fire at that moment,” Lee explained.
That's when firefighters arrived.
"In this kind of thing, seconds count,” Wentzville Fire Chief Steven Mosher said.
He says crews from multiple departments put out the accidental fire in under an hour. Thursday night, he thanked Lee for stepping in just in the nick of time.
"You did save our lives,” Shelby Higgenbotham said looking at Lee.
For the first time since the March incident, Lee was reunited with the family.
"It wasn't until it tore down some walls that the smoke alarm started to go off and we were already outside,” Higgenbotham recalled.
"I think anybody would do the same thing but I think for some reason, God put me there … I just think I'm doing my job, helping another neighbor out,” Lee said.
Out of harm they never knew was at their back door.
"It was flames everywhere,” Lee recounted.
The home is a loss. The family says it has to be rebuilt. Not only did all eight people get out safely, but so did the family's three cats and two dogs.