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Mom Hears Smash on Her Door at 5 a.m., Then Voice Yelling "Fire!"

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Home intrusions are spine-chilling situations, especially if you’re home at the time it happens.

Most home invaders are only there to steal your valuables while others may have planned something much more sinister.

But what about the home invasions that are there to help you? You may be thinking, “There’s no way a break-in could benefit me, my life, or my home,” but that wasn’t the case for the Howe family in Martinsville, Indiana.



The stream of events all started with nurses Michelle Blundell and Heather Harp who were working the graveyard shift at a nursing home.

They were taking a quick coffee break when they noticed the family’s home was on fire.

As they rushed over to help, construction worker and former firefighter volunteer, Nicholas David, was on the way to his job when he also noticed the fire. He quickly pulled over to help the frantic women.

The home itself wasn’t in flames, but a detached garage right next to the home had caught on fire and was possibly spreading.

Meeting at the door around the same time, they started banging to alert the residents of the home.



“We’ve seen them around, seen the kids outside,” Blundell spoke of the Howe family. “I knew they had babies. We were getting in the house one way or the other.”

David made that happen by kicking in the door. All three rushed inside to wake up the sleeping family who at first thought an intruder was breaking into their home.



Curtis and Danielle Howe along with their son Caden, daughter Lilly, and family dog all made it out safely.

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The Howes didn’t have a chance to get the names of their rescuers at the time of the incident, but eventually reconnected with the help of WTHR-TV.

Danielle spoke with Blundell over the phone and thanked him for waking them up 5 a.m. that morning.

Her recollection of what took place was a smash at the door and a voice yelling “fire!”



In any other instances, a home invasion is an unlawful act. Blundell, however, wanted to save the Howes even if that meant putting his own life at risk.

“The garage and the vehicles can all be replaced. You guys cannot,” he said. And, later saying, “I’m glad that I was in the right place at the right time.”

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