A Las Vegas homeowner is now grateful to a man he had never met. The stranger helped keep a backyard fire from reaching his house as it crept ever closer on Wednesday night. Robert Bloch was driving home from the grocery store with his wife when he spotted flames rising from a shed behind Steve Mannarino’s house, according to KSNV. No one else appeared to be stepping in, so he stopped and got out.
Bloch banged on Mannarino’s door. He jumped over a wall and got a garden hose running. He jumped a second wall and started another hose, then shouted to a neighbor who had water going as well. Three hoses were soon on the fire.
Mannarino and his wife were napping when Bloch woke them up. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran into the backyard, where the flames rose about 15 feet in the air. He said the shed measured about 18 feet by 18 feet. By the time he got a look at the fire up close, only one wall was left standing.
Bloch and residents behind Mannarino’s house kept the hoses on the fire until firefighters arrived. They were able to put it out, but the shed and everything inside of it was destroyed. Luckily, the house avoided worse damage. Fire investigators are still working to determine what started it, however.
Why Bloch Says He Acted While Others Filmed
Bloch was shocked by how many people stood nearby with their phones out rather than helping. He couldn’t believe it, imparting some advice to anyone who comes across a fire or a neighbor in trouble: “Don’t just stand there with your phone.” He said people should bang on doors and wake residents who may have no idea what’s going on outside.
Bloch and Mannarino had never met, despite living near each other. After the fire, Bloch raised the idea of a backyard barbecue, and Mannarino thanked him. Mannarino said he was grateful firefighters got there quickly and that the help from his neighbors gave him a renewed sense of community. Bloch, a Raiders superfan, said he now hopes to be known as the Raiders Fireman next season.
Should You Fight a Fire With a Garden Hose?
The part of Bloch’s response that fire officials would most want people to copy is the first part: waking the residents and getting help on the way. Alerting people and calling 911 come before any attempt to fight a fire.
The National Fire Protection Association says a portable extinguisher is meant for a small fire, one confined to a single object and roughly no larger than a wastebasket, and that anything beyond that calls for getting out and calling for help. So if you end up seeing a neighbor in need like in this situation, you’ve got options. But no matter what you do, doing nothing and recording with your phone should not be the course of action anyone ends up taking.