Off-Duty Firefighter Helps Neighbors Evacuate After Hot Tub Bursts Into Flames

An off-duty firefighter was in the right place at the right time Thursday when he jumped into action to evacuate a family when a fire erupted from their hot tub on Thursday.

South Metro Fire Rescue said firefighters responded to a report of a residential structure fire in Centennial, a suburb of Denver, Thursday afternoon. Crews contained the fire to an outdoor hot tup and prevented it from spreading to the home.

It turned out that the 911 call was made by Garrett Golesh, an off-duty South Metro firefighter who lived around the corner. He happened to be out in his yard when smoke began rising from the hot tub nearby.

“I actually saw a little bit of haze in the air at first, and then I could smell it,” Golesh told KDVR. “At that point, I knew. I thought the whole house was on fire just based on the smoke.”

Along with calling 911, Golesh ran to help the family evacuate.

“When I got to the front of the house, she sort of was like, Whats going on? Is something wrong? Is that my house?” Golesh told the outlet. “So I tried to just explain it real quick — Hey, its something in the backyard, I think its the hot tub. Lets just go out the front door.”

He helped the woman collect her child and dogs and get out of harm’s way before he used their garden house to begin fighting the fire. When first responders arrived, he helped them access the fire at the back of the property.

“Any neighbor would have done the same thing—I just happened to be nearby,” he said.

South Metro Fire Rescue said one person was evaluated by medics at the scene and transported for further evaluation.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the fire marshal’s office.