GRANDVIEW, Mo. -- Firefighters say a Grandview man was in the right place at the right time when he spotted smoke and called in a house fire early Saturday.
Josh Jenkins was driving home from work just after midnight when something caught his eye.
“It looked like a big patch of fog in front of me, but as I drove through I could smell the smoke and I knew it wasn’t fog,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins got out of his car and noticed flames coming up from the front window, that’s when he called 911.
It was just before midnight and other neighbors we spoke to say they didn’t notice anything until after fire trucks arrived.
The call initially went out as two people trapped in the home, but it was upgraded to three victims trapped as firefighters were on the way.
“When you actually have dispatch confirming that they are actually on the phone with trapped victims, it does take it to a new level,” said Asst. Chief Doug Stark, Incident Commander on the fire.
Grandview police helped one man escape out the back window and firefighters went inform the others.
“It didn't look good initially for the dog and then as time went on he started to wag his tail and everyone's spirits lift and it just makes it all worthwhile,” said Stark.
All three men and the dog were treated for smoke inhalation. Two men have been released from the hospital, one is still admitted.
The dog was also treated and is doing fine.
Fire officials say if it wasn't for Jenkins' late-night drive, their crews may not have gotten there in time.
"Another five minutes, either way, could've been a different story here,” said Lewis Austin, Fire Marshal for the City of Grandview.
“He saved the day, he really did. Called 911 and got the system rolling,” said Stark.
Austin says there was not a working smoke detector in the house at the time of the fire. The homeowner had taken it down to replace the batteries and hadn’t put it back up yet.
Austin says next week firefighters will be going door to door in this neighborhood checking that people have working smoke detectors.
