With the help of a Ring Camera, a jogger was able to rescue two dogs, a cat and a rabbit from a house he noticed was on fire.
Inside Edition reported on the life-affirming story.
Paul Murphy, as identified by KSBW, was enjoying a run in Scotts Valley, California when he noticed smoke coming from the home of Courtney and Tony Polito.
The Polito family were out of town at the time, but their two dachshunds, as well as their pet rabbit and cat, were all inside the house as Murphy ran by.
After ringing the door bell, Murphy was able to connect with Courtney using their Ring surveillance camera.
Courtney told WTHR 13 about witnessing the whole thing through the doorbell camera.
"I saw him running back and forth, so I answered it and he said, 'do you see there's smoke coming out of the top of your house?"
Courtney told Inside Edition that she 'panicked" the minute she saw the smoke coming from her house on the surveillance camera.
This resulted in Courtney giving Murphy the code to enter their house, allowing him to rescue their four-legged friends.
"The first thing that went through my mind was 'get my pets out of the house please'."
Thankfully, both dachshunds as well as the cat and rabbit were safely evacuated from the house.
The fire department also made it to the Polito's home quickly enough the fire remained contained to the garage.
While a number of items inside the garage were destroyed, and the house suffered a considerable amount of smoke damage, Courtney told WTHR 13 had the fire department arrived as little as 10 minutes later, their entire house would have burnt down.
Tony couldn't help but sing the praises of Murphy, willing to put his own safety at risk to rescue the pets of complete strangers.
"It takes a certain type of person" to enter a stranger's burning house to save pets."
Courtney also made it clear there weren't enough words to express her gratitude.
"I want to give him a hug."
"I'll bring him to lunch."
"I'll bring him dinner."
"I don't know ... I just want to thank him so much and let him know how thankful we are."
Viewers of Inside Edition's report on YouTube also praised Murphy and his selfless heroism.
"Now there's a guy that deserves a key to the city. He literally put his life on the line to help strangers, this could have turned out very differently were it not for him." - Corren love
"He went into a burning house to save a stranger's animals!!! What a lovely kind and loving man please bless him abundantly." - C K
"We need more people and stories like this. How selfless of that man to risk himself in the unknown. So happy babies were rescued. I would buy this man a few pints!"- Maggie Chretien
"We need more people like this in our general society. What could've happened without him." - Pulsion
"Shows some people really do care about one another even in this selfish world. Thank god he was able to save the families fur babies."- Lori Russell
"That was an act of absolute faith to give him the code, and that man saved those pets. Great job everyone!" - hothotheat3000
"I'm happy that there's a a hero for those animals I thanked him God bless him."- Lyzah Garzetty
"Talking about being at the right place at the right time.god bless." - BIG ROY
"Some people have the "mind my own business" mentality and would probably just keep walking if they saw that. I'm glad his concern turned into action. What a sweet man." - Mona Yuki
"So this guy waited until someone answered, alerted the homeowner, and then went into the burning house not once but twice to save their pets. WOW what an amazing human being. - Jessica
Scotts Valley Battalion Chief Andrew LoFranco told WTHR 13 that this particular episode was a career first for him and his crew.
"This is the first for our agency where someone uses a Ring doorbell system to alert 911 and the homeowners."
While it remains unclear if the Polito's have rewarded Murphy with lunch, dinner or a big old hug yet, KSBW reported the Scotts Valley Fire Department may recommend a commendation for Murphy.
@WhiteHouse/X
