Space Heater Blamed For Fire That Gutted Home In Medford, Long Island

MEDFORD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Big flames shot out of a Medford, Long Island home this week, and fire officials believe a space heater placed too close to a couch is to blame.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, Medford firefighters leapt from their trucks with their hoses at the ready after the fire broke out in the living room at 185 Southaven Ave. in Medford around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.

But once fire crews arrived, flames were already pouring through the windows of the single-story home. The family of four inside barely escaped the towering flames.

Next-door neighbors who raced out to help witnessed the father saving his life.

"The husband actually threw the lady out of the window so that she would be OK, because they were all sleeping and the kid had no clothes," said neighbor Raegan Offerman.

Offerman's father helped rescue three of the family's six dogs, but could not find the rest in the billowing black smoke that filled every room.

"When I came out, I saw the man screaming for his one dog that had gotten out, and he was screaming that he has to get his other dogs out and he couldn't get them," said Barbara Offerman. "It was just chaos."

Firefighters braved the spreading flames to locate and rescue the last three dogs. The rattled family could at least smile that everyone had escaped unharmed – pets and all.

And incredibly, family members told investigators that they would not even have known there was a fire if they had not been alerted to the fast-moving flames by one of their beloved pets.

"The pit bull nearly knocked down their door alerting them," Barbara Offerman said.

The family, along with all of their dogs, were staying with friends Thursday. But they already knew their home was not inhabitable.

Town officials ordered it boarded up, and most of the family's belongings have been trashed.

"It's very sad. I'm heartbroken for these people," Barbara Offerman said. "and it was very scary. We weren't sure if it was going to hit our house."

An extremely hot space heater left too close to a couch was blamed for the fire. Town officials stressed that space heaters should never be left unattended, and always turned off when sleeping.