Neighbor rescues sleeping man from Seminole County house fire

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A quick-thinking neighbor helped a sleeping resident escape when an Altamonte Springs home caught fire Friday afternoon, Seminole County Fire Department officials said.

The fire was reported around 2 p.m. on Hermitage Drive.

Officials said the resident, who has since been identified as Shane Shoemaker, was asleep inside when the fire broke out. A neighbor saw the flames, knocked on the door and helped Shoemaker escape. No one was injured.

Shoemaker said he was sleeping inside when he thought he was smelling someone cooking in the distance.

"I hear (a) ‘pound, pound, pound, bang’ at the door and when I heard that, I was like, 'Oh God, it's probably a fire,'" Shoemaker said. "All I'm thinking of is, you know, we have a dog, so I'm trying to (make sure he) has the dog, which, thank God he did."

Shoemaker said the fire started in the garage, and investigators have not told him the cause of the blaze.

"All the stuff in the house can be replaced, but you can't really replace an animal or a person," Shoemaker said.

The garage of the home was fully engulfed when crews arrived at the scene. First responders were able to knock down the fire before it spread to other areas of the 1,800-square-foot home.