Douglas County Men Who Helped Save Neighbor, Home In House Fire Earn Fire Chiefs' Award

DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — Four men earned the Douglas County Fire Chiefs' Citizens Award for helping prevent what could've been a catastrophic house fire.

Brothers Matthew and Daniel Osime, and cousins Aminde and Zuriel Tabe, were doing yard work in early November when they saw the outside of their neighbor's home on Grove Trail Pass was on fire, the Douglas County Sentinel reported.

The four men immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher and water hose to prevent further spread and evacuated the house. Last week, they were presented trophies and certificates for their heroic actions, the Sentinel reported.

Investigators discovered that the homeowner had lit his charcoal grill in the driveway, and went inside while it was heating. According to a fire department report, one of the grill's legs broke and it fell over, causing it to ignite some material cause a fire.

The damage was contained to the outside of the house.

“They say they didn’t think twice about anything but wanted to alert their neighbor,” Fire Chief Roderick Jolivette said, according to the Sentinel. “So many times now, people are just quick to grab a phone and just film things. Their quick thinking might have saved lives and definitely the property.”