A Chassidishe mother heading for the gym came upon a fire burning in the garage early Monday, woke her sleeping family and got them out of the house, a fire official said.
Responders found fire raging at 6 Dorchester Drive after the blaze was reported at 4:07 a.m. The mother, father and their 1-, 3- and 6-year-old children escaped uninjured.
The fire broke out in the garage in the split level home – beneath where the children were sleeping.
"If she didn't alert the sleeping kids in the bedroom above, we would have a whole different story here," Airmont Fire Inspector Kim Weppler told Dusiznies. He added, "They got really lucky here."
The garage sustained fire damage and most of the house sustained heat and smoke damage, Weppler said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately determined but it does not appear suspicious, Weppler said.
