Authorities said a faulty furnace caused the fire that destroyed Kevin Lynch's house in Bethesda, Md., early Sunday morning.
Awakened by a smoke detector, Lynch told News4 he went to the basement to investigate.
"I heard one explosion," Lynch said. "And then probably 30 to 35 seconds after that I heard another one."
Lynch said flames followed him upstairs to a second-floor bedroom. He said he grabbed his cell phone and escaped through a window onto a roof and called 911.
Lynch was rescued off the roof and fire officials said he was more than just lucky; he had working smoke detectors and a plan to escape.
Montgomery County Fire Chief Tom Carr said, "Make sure that, that plan includes getting out and staying out and making that 911 call after you get out just as the gentlemen did here so successfully."
Fire officials also they see more and more flames as outdoor temperatures fall. In Montgomery County alone, officials said there have been almost a dozen serious fires in the first 12 days of December alone.
"We've had five fatalities this year so far," Carr said. "Unfortunately all of them have been elderly and the most recent tragic civilian fatality was in Leisure World last week."
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