PEORIA, Ariz. —
Echo O'Brien heard cries for help and glass shattering from across the street. When she opened her door, she saw dark smoke billowing from her neighbor's home.
"The first thing I thought about was the family, is everyone out of the house," said O'Brien.
That's when she saw her neighbor, Tom Gerloff, running out of the house. Earlier he noticed a fire on the back patio and attempted to put it out, but it overwhelmed him and spread.
His wife Maeghan and son Michael weren't home.
“They’re out and they’re alive and that’s the plus side we have to look at, at this point,” said Maeghan.
She said their daughter was trapped inside the house and the only way to save her was Tom having to go back inside.
“She ran to the pantry, and he couldn’t get back into the back door. So, he had to run around the back of the house, jump over the fence and run into the front door to get her, scoop her up and take her out,” said Maeghan.
She was OK, but Tom suffered burns to nearly 30% of his body.
"He's doing OK. He had surgery and tomorrow morning they have to assess if he needs more skin grafts, if not he can come home in a week," said Maeghan.
But the family's home is gone. Maeghan said she and the kids are now relying on family and living out of a hotel room.
O'Brien has set up a fundraiser to help them rebuild and for medical bills.
“They need everything. She’s trying to go back and forth every day to check in on her husband,” said O'Brien.
Maeghan said she is grateful for the outpouring of love and support and is thankful her husband and daughter are alive; eager for Tom to be released from the hospital.
"Hopefully he can get out soon and we can see each other face to face and get better as a family,” she said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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