A quick-thinking Villager grabbed her phone and pocketbook and got out of her home before it erupted in flames Tuesday afternoon on the Historic Side of The Villages.
Ruth Stresing said she heard a “popping sound” at about 3:30 p.m. at her home on Rainbow Boulevard in the Village of Silver Lake.
The Villages Public Safety Department quickly arrived on the scene to fight the blaze which had concentrated on the garage area of the home.
Villages-News.com has obtained video footage in the moments after emergency units responded (courtesy of Lake County Firefighters):
“We were concerned about it spreading to a neighboring home,” said Lt. Chris Gruber, who was among the first on the scene.
Gruber’s swift action prevented the blaze from spreading to the home next door.
Stresing said she was happy to be safe.
“That’s what really matters,” she said.
She watched firefighters put out the blaze and later sat in a lawn chain in a neighbor’s driveway as they surveyed the damage. Her friends were close by to comfort her.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y. who moved to The Villages in 2001, Stresing said she has a daughter in Lady Lake and would be staying with her.
Five units from the Villages Public Safety Department responded to the scene. Community Watch was also on hand guiding traffic away from the area.
