Woman helps neighbors during fire near Brownsburg

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — Firefighters are praising a woman who helped out her neighbors during a massive fire Monday morning. 

The fire damaged four homes and destroyed at least one near the Brownsburg-Indianapolis border on James Blair Drive. No one reported any injuries. 

Melba Montgomery said she was driving to work around 6:10 a.m. when she saw a cloud of black smoke, turned around and called 911. 

“I rang the doorbell. I knocked on the door. A little girl answered. I said, hi, is your dad home? The house is on fire,” Montgomery said. “Please come out. You guys gotta come out of the house.”

Montgomery said, shortly after the family ran out, the fire spread and the garage caved. 

“That’s when I got emotional because, you know, if I didn’t ring the doorbell, I don’t know what would have happened but I’m just glad something told me to turn around go to where that smoke was coming from.”

Investigators are still trying to figure what caused the fire and how it spread. They battled the heat Monday as they sifted through the aftermath of the fire. 

Montgomery said another homeowner helped her tell the other neighbors. 

Dania Tsegai said her aunt owns one of the damaged homes. She lives with her in another home in Montgomery’s neighborhood. 

“I just want to say thank you to her and it’s a relief that everyone is safe because of her,” Tsegai said. 

“Once I saw the house go up in flames, the way it did,” Montgomery said. “I just started crying. I was like, I’m just so happy you are all out.”

Firefighters said the fire displaced three families. One of the homes only has damage to the side from heat radiation. The people who live there are welcome to stay in their home, firefighters said.