85-year-old New Jersey man, passerby help save family from house fire

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An 85-year-old New Jersey man and an early morning walker are being hailed by police for saving the lives of a sleeping family inside a home that caught on fire. 

Santo Livio of Kendall Park, who "stated that after a lifetime of being an early riser for work, he continued to wake up early in retirement, as well," was in the right place at the right time Wednesday when he noticed "puffs of smoke that looked like fog" coming from the garage of a home on Kingsley Road, according to the South Brunswick Township Police Department. 

"Unsure if he was seeing smoke or fog, he stepped outside, at which point he saw a woman walking down the street" around 5:30 a.m., police said in a statement. "He asked her if it appeared to be smoke, and she said yes, at which point they both ran to the house and began trying to alert the residents, banging on the door and windows. 

"Mr. Livio then called 9-1-1 as the residents left the house, and the unknown woman left the scene in the commotion of the fire response," police added. "Mr. Livio stated that the residents later came to his home to thank him for alerting them of the fire, allowing them to safely evacuate the home." 

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The house that caught fire in Kendall Park, New Jersey, early Wednesday, May 31. (South Brunswick Township Police Department)

Inside the home was a father and his four children, while the mother was away at the time working overnight as a nurse, ABC News reports. 

"When I got back to my door, I saw the people that lived in the house come out, and she told them their house was on fire," Livio told the network, describing a conversation between the father and the unidentified woman. "And the man said, 'What fire?' And she says, 'Look.’ He looked up, and he said, 'Oh my God.'" 

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Smoke was observed coming from the garage of the home, the South Brunswick Township Police Department says. (Google Maps)

Livio also said he calls himself a "good neighbor" and that "I hope that what I did for somebody they would do the same for me." 

South Brunswick Township Police said the family inside the home "were sleeping and had no idea that the house was on fire, when they heard banging on their front door and bedroom windows." 

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The South Brunswick Township Police Department says it took multiple fire departments to extinguish the blaze. (Google Maps)

"It took 50 firefighters from all three township fire departments, Kendall Park Fire Department, Monmouth Junction Fire Department, and Kingston Fire Department, 20 minutes to extinguish the fire," according to police. "The fire appears to have begun in the garage, but a source and confirmation of point of origin are pending further investigation by the Fire Safety Bureau." 

Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said "I credit Mr. Livio, along with the unidentified woman, and their quick thinking and heroic actions, with saving the family."