BALCH SPRINGS, Texas — Allan Medrano, 13, said he saw the flames as soon as he got home.
He quickly grabbed a hose.
“I didn't want any of our houses to burn down because I didn't want to be homeless basically,” Medrano said. “I didn't want to have no home.”
The fence between his Balch Springs house and his neighbor’s house was on fire Monday afternoon. Medrano started hosing down the fence and his yard.
But, the teenager knew his next door neighbors were out of town. So he sprayed his neighbor's yard, too.
Joe Estrada credits Medrano for saving his family member's house, which was not damaged.
“My wife said when she got here, the neighbor's kids were actually putting (the fire) out. So they actually were able to put it out before it got to the house,” Estrada said.
Thanks to Medrano, the flames didn’t spread to any of the houses. But the teen says he doesn't deserve all the credit.
“I couldn't have done this without my neighbor. My neighbor, some neighbor that was over here," Medrano said.
Medrano said there was a tall, skinny man who he had never seen before in his yard, helping him fight the fire.
“I feel like he was an angel, because when we got here, he was already here,” Medrano said. “We just did it together and we put out the fire.”
That man left too quickly before Medrano could get his name. So if you were on Bell Manor Court helping your neighbor fight the fires Monday afternoon, the Medrano family wants to say thank you.
“If it weren't for him, my house could have been on fire and I could have been homeless right now,” Medrano said.
The Balch Springs fire damaged 26 homes in total, including destroying nine of them.