Good Samaritan, police officer save 3 from devastating Bridgewater house fire, explosion

A family escaped a devastating fire at a home in Bridgewater, Massachusetts early Friday morning thanks to a good Samaritan and a police officer.

Flames broke out at the single-family house on Crescent Street around 1:30 a.m.

Bridgewater Fire Chief John Schlatz said someone spotted the fire and stopped to help.

"A person was driving by, saw the fire, called 911. The P.D. showed up banged on the door, got all three occupants out, a couple of pets out," he told reporters.

No one was hurt, but the home was gutted and the roof of the garage collapsed during the fire.

Schlatz said gas tanks in the garage exploded and two cars in the driveway were also destroyed.

"We heard a huge blast at about two o'clock in the morning. It shook the house, rattled the windows and I just was like, 'Something horrible had to have happened,'" neighbor Alison Green told reporters. "I looked out the window and I could just see this huge fireball in the sky, and I've never seen anything like that." 

It's not clear yet when or where the fire started. Schlatz said it took about 45 minutes to get it under control.

"It's still under investigation," he said.

Firefighters from several towns were called in to help. The police officer and good Samaritan have not been identified yet.

"This a really historic house for Bridgewater. This all used to be a big farm," Green said. "That's a little treasure that's gone."

Bridgewater, Massachusetts is about 30 miles south of Boston.