Watertown Couple Says Upstairs Neighbor Alerted Them To House Fire

WATERTOWN (CBS) -- A Watertown couple says they were fast asleep and didn't hear any smoke alarms go off when a fire broke out at their home Monday night. They made it out safely thanks to an upstairs neighbor.

"Our neighbor banged on the door and told us to get out, get out, there's a fire," Marie Riley told WBZ-TV.

Huge flames engulfed the roof of the Spruce Street home shortly after 10 p.m. Riley was able to grab her dog and some clothes before watching the home she and her husband love go up in flames.

"It was crazy then flames out the top of the roof," Riley said.

She is a nurse in Boston, so it's been a challenging year-and-a-half already.

"It's been really tough, I think we've been in crisis management for 18 months," Riley said. "When I was watching the flames come out of the roof it was like nurse mentality takes over."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with a minor injury.

The Watertown Fire Department had to call for backup from several towns.

"At 11:30, the fire was just getting worse and worse and they brought the ladder down from the roof and the flames leaped about two stories above," said neighbor Jean Hammond.

Marie said it's their neighbors who got them through a rough night.

"Someone saw me barefoot and brought me slippers. Strangers invited us to spend the night. I am so full of gratitude this morning," she said.

Neighbors told WBZ-TV that the house next door caught fire two years ago and it was just rebuilt.

Five people have been displaced. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire department estimates the cost of damages to be about $750,000. Most of that is on the third floor where the fire started.