Homeowner: neighbor saved my life and home

One homeowner is thankful his neighbor was outside early Monday morning and says it could have saved his life and his home.

Winterville Community Fire, Red Oak Fire Department and Ayden Fire Department responded to the structure fire in the 2100 block of Vale Court in Winterville just before 4 a.m.

Chip Davis says he woke up in the middle of the night and smelled something similar to burnt toast but could not locate the source of the smell.

Davis' neighbor rushed over after seeing the flames and began ringing the door bell and shouting.

After calling 911, they were able to grab the fire extinguisher and hose attempting to put out the fire themselves.

When fire crews arrived on scene, only light smoke could be seen coming from the house thanks to the quick work done by Davis and his neighbor.

Davis says he feels like his neighbors "Saved my life and saved my home from more damage than what had occurred."

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Davis believes it was a wire that started the early morning fire.

The Winterville Community Fire Department is encouraging everyone to not only purchase a fire extinguisher, but to be familiar with it.

Fire crews responded to an early morning fire when a home-owner and an alert neighbor realized there was a fire and called 911.

Winterville Community Fire, Red Oak Fire Department and Ayden Fire Department responded to the structure fire in the 2100 block of Vale Court in Winterville just before 4 a.m.

When crews arrived on scene, only light smoke could be seen coming from the house and firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire.

Winterville Community Fire Department posted on Facebook that it was due to the quick thinking of the homeowner and neighbor that minimized the damages to the home.