An off-duty firefighter who rescued an Omaha man from a burning home Sunday morning said he was just glad to be in the right place at the right time.
Phil Lopez, a 16-year veteran of the Omaha Fire Department, said he was driving to a gym about 7:10 a.m. after ending his shift when he saw smoke and flames coming from a home at 1302 Madison St. in South Omaha. Lopez called 911 and approached the house to alert the residents.
"I looked through the bay window and saw a man resting on the couch," Lopez said. "I started banging on the door and window to get him up. Then I told him to come outside with me."
The man, Mike Johnson, was alone and got out safely. Lopez stayed on the phone with 911 until firefighters arrived from his station at 16th and Spring Streets.
"This is the first time that I ever had to call in a house fire on my day off," Lopez said. "The funny thing is that the house is in my station's area, so if it had been called in a few minutes earlier, I would have been responding to put the fire out."
Taira Jones, who was working at the house at midday, said Johnson is the nephew of the home's owner, who died about a year ago. She said Johnson was staying in the home because of recent vandalism.
"Thank God that the firefighter came by when he did, because Mike probably would have tried to put the fire out by himself," Jones said. "All I can say is thank God."
Assistant Fire Marshal Jim Gentile, a spokesman for the Omaha Fire Department, said the fire had spread from a wood-burning fireplace and run up the chimney into the attic. A preliminary damage report said the house, valued at $62,500, was a total loss.
"As a fireman, you always hear about other guys doing the same thing and you wonder how you would do," Lopez said.
"Basically I'm just glad I could be there and that no one was hurt. That's what everyone (at the fire department) hopes for."
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