A family on the cul-de-sac of Doral Court says it owes a big thank-you to a Sun Herald newspaper carrier. As they slept, Barbara Cameron alerted authorities to a brush fire eating its way toward their home.
Drew Pretzello, a government contractor, said he didn't know her name, but he usually sees her car as he leaves for work around 4 a.m. But Wednesday, he was at a firearms training course.
His wife, Lisa, an hour away from her alarm clock buzz, was asleep. So was their daughter, 15-year-old Alysha, and 18-year-old son, Andrew, home from college.
Lisa Pretzello woke up to the sound of voices. She looked out her window and saw firefighters on the other side of an adjoining vacant lot. She thought the fire was only on the lot.
"I didn't want to add to their chaos, so I didn't bother to go outside," she said. "As it got lighter outside, oh, my gosh! I could see the fire had spread all the way up to our driveway right by where I was sleeping. It's very scary to think we were that close to being in danger. I'm just so thankful she called for help so firefighters could contain it in time."
The fire destroyed grass and pine straw and the main housing of their sprinkler system. It also melted a telephone connection box, leaving neighbors without phone service or Internet access most of the day.
Neighbor Mary Marcussen said air-conditioning kept her from hearing the fire trucks arrive.
"There wasn't any need to wake the Pretzellos to get them out," said Marcussen. "The flames weren't real high and the firemen knocked it down right away. But I don't know what would have happened if the paper lady hadn't called for help. It could have gotten their house and vehicles and spread to ours."
Cameron, 61, a Sun Herald carrier for 33 years, said she was just doing what she does every day.
"If I see something suspicious or bad, I call somebody on my cell phone," she said. "If you can help somebody, why not?"
Distributed by the Associated Press
