Terrence O’Donnell was sitting at his kitchen table March 24 drinking some coffee and watching the birds when all the sudden he saw smoke coming from his neighbor’s house two doors away on Ludwig Road.
The 69-year-old Oxford man immediately went outside to investigate and found a brush fire rapidly spreading toward his neighbor’s 3289 Ludwig home.
According to the Oxford Fire Department, 15-20 mile per hour winds coupled with an “extremely dry” ground caused the fire to spread from a neighbor’s nearby burn-pile.
“It was scary,” O’ Donnell said, noting when the wind kicked up, the flames “really shot up high.”
O’Donnell informed the homeowner’s daughter, Amanda Helton, 14, of the situation and told her to call the fire department.
“She was really shook up,” he said. “I felt bad for her.”
O’Donnell said he went around to the north side of the house and using his feet began to stamp out the burning leaves and brush near the structure.
“It was burning pretty good, but was still easy to put out,” he said.
O’Donnell then moved to the south side of the home where the fire had reached the driveway and a pile of firewood.
Concerned the fire would reach the house and damage it, he hooked up a garden hose and began spraying the flames.
Soon after, firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze, which damaged approximately a half-acre of land.
O’Donnell’s wife, Joyce, wasn’t surprised by her husband’s actions.
“He does that all the time, helping people,” she said. “He gets out of the car if there’s a bottle on the ground. He’ll say ‘somebody’s going to drive over that’ and pick it up.'”
O’Donnell credits his parents with willingness to help others.
“My ma and dad were always that way,” he said. “They were always very good neighbors. My mom was always the first one to help neighbors if they were sick or in need. I guess I got that from them.”
“Everything (O’Donnell) did was wonderful,” said the owner of 3289 Ludwig.