Teenage boy springs into action, saving Sherman Oaks home and neighbors from fire

A Sherman Oaks neighborhood is thanking their unexpected hero after a 13-year-old boy sprang into action when he noticed a fire in the middle of the night, saving them from a possible tragedy. 

Myron Tkechenko was sleeping on the couch in the living room of his family's home, in the midst of a sleepover, at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, when he noticed something was wrong. 

Surveillance camera footage from a neighbor's house shows what was likely the simultaneous moments that a fire broke out in the bushes outside of their Hesby Street home, as a person pushing a shopping cart stopped for a few minutes.

"I heard, like, crackling and something, like, burning," Tkechenko said. "I was trying to think of the best thing to do, so I thought getting everyone out of the house was the priority."

He woke his family up and got everyone to safety within minutes.

The security camera video shows the unidentified person looking at the fire before walking away. A short time later, Tkechenko's family is seen rushing from the home and moving their cars out of the fire's path. 

Then, Tkechenko and his father are seen fighting the fire on their own, stopping it just feet from their house and several of their neighbors'. 

"I was filling up the pots, and he was taking them and just making sure the fire wouldn't spread to our house," Tkechenko said. 

Neighbors, all very grateful for the teen's quick thinking, say that the incident highlights a bigger issue that the community is facing, including recent incidents of vandalism and other crimes they believe are tied to homelessness. 

"I was horrified, because should that young man not have been awakened and called 911 when he did to get the fire department here, who knows what would have happened," said Penny Johnson.

Johnson is the neighborhood watch captain on their street, and as such, her house is fitted with 16 security cameras, including the one that captured the moments the person appeared to set the fire. 

"Almost everybody on the block has kids, and they're scared, and that's not right," Johnson said. "I just want the city council and the mayor to work together to get this problem solved."

As for Tkechenko and his family, they're feeling grateful that he was in the right place at the right time, but still on edge considering the way the blaze broke out. 

"I'm pretty sad, honestly. I don't really know how he did it," Tkechenko said. "I feel like I'm really lucky that I woke up. I feel like my family's lucky, and the neighborhood is."

Neighbors say that they're gathering additional security video from the area in hopes of identifying the person seen in the video. 

CBS LA has reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department's Arson Division in hopes of learning more information about the incident and if any investigation is underway.