Neighbours rescue family of four in Georgetown morning fire, home destroyed

Two neighbours helped rescue a family of four in an early morning house fire in Georgetown that destroyed a home and sent the parents and children to hospital.

The destructive blaze broke out around 4:20 a.m. at 103 Arborglen Drive following an explosion that came from the garage.

Neighbours told CHCH news the first thing they heard was a bang, and then the garage door was found all the way across the street on a neighbour’s front lawn.

Security camera footage from across the street was able to catch the moment the first bang occurred.

“It happened so fast, within five to seven minutes, things were already on fire and the smoke was moving up into the second floor,” said Vesna Nikolic, whose house had caught fire and was inside when the explosion happened.

“I was outside screaming for anyone to help us, and I’m very fortunate our neighbours were able to hear us,” said Nikolic.

The loud blast also woke up their neighbours, including Ammad Chaudhary and Patrick Marca, who said they heard the family screaming from the back of the house.

Chaudhary said that they grabbed a piece of plywood to help break their fall and yelled up to the parents to throw their kids from the window.

“They threw the first kid and he [Marca] caught them, they threw the second kid and I caught him,” said Chaudhary.

“The mom and dad, we found someone that gave us a step-ladder.”

They were able to use a piece of plywood to get the children down from the roof and managed to find a ladder from another neighbour to help rescue the parents.

Caught on video, both Chaudhary and Marca can be seen carrying the family from their home.

“As soon as we came out here, there was a second big explosion,” said Chaudhary. “We had them all on our front lawn — this all happened within three to four minutes.”

“We carried them out, they were all barefoot…there was glass all over the floor,” says Chaudhary.

“The fire chief came knocking on our door at some point, and said ‘you guys got the family out? You saved their lives,” said Marca.

“They would not have made it had you not been there,” recounted Marca.

Halton Hills fire crews used defensive and aerial operations to fight the flames and the Milton Fire Department was called in for additional assistance.

The family inside the burning house escaped the blaze with minor injuries.

They were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation, and the mother is now dealing with a concussion and received stitches.

The Ontario Fire Marshal was on the scene Friday afternoon, and said it is too soon to determine the cause of the fire, or where it began.

The family and neighbours said the blaze seemed to be coming from the garage, which housed two electric vehicles.

“If there’s an electric vehicle involved, that will certainly be part of our process,” said Chris ter Stege, the supervisor of fire investigations with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office.

“Our engineers will take a look at the vehicles and break them down methodically to make sure if they were or were not involved.”

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office said the investigation will likely be ongoing for several days, but at this point there is no indication the fire is suspicious.

The homes next door are also damaged.

CHCH News has reached out to Halton Hills fire department and Halton police for more information.

A sister of Vesna Nikolic has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family.