Neighbors rush to save Scottsdale home after fire was sparked accidentally

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Video taken by home surveillance cameras in the Phoenix area show just how easy it is for a fire to start.

"While we were speaking, she said, 'No Kristin, it's a fire,'" said Kristin Maples, the homeowner. "She said the entire field in front of our homes across our road is ablaze."

The fire was caught on camera by a neighbor, and it shows just how close the fire came to the house, and how much was burned.

Maples was out of town when she got an alert that a man was on her porch. That man was trying to get the family out of the home. Maples watched it all happen on her phone, while booking the first flight home.

"I'm watching the flames literally licking the porch," Maples recounted. "I mean, they were right there."

Mary Myers saw the smoke from her home cameras, and she grabbed the nearest hose to help. She suffered some minor burns to her face and neck.

"It was way too close to homes," said Myers. "It burned up an electrical box down there. That's when I kind of was telling people to run because those can blow, and then when it jumped the road, everyone panicked because it was going right towards these homes."

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Neighbors then poured in from all over with shovels, water buckets, and hoses until fire crews arrived.

According to Rural Metro fire officials, the human-caused fire was accidental, as construction workers at a neighboring home were installing a fence.

One spark was all it took.

"One spark can cost everyone their lives," said Maples. "I mean, it happens just that fast. I think maybe they don't understand that that is what is at risk."

Maples and her family are grateful to their neighbors, and thankful it wasn’t any worse.

Meanwhile, Rural Metro is stressing the importance of safety, especially for homeowners having work done at their property.