LAPORTE – In the world of real estate, Highway 287 doesn't make for the best neighbor. In the world of Phil Oberg, the bypass is a savior.
"If it wasn't for that road, who knows what would have happened," Oberg said.
Monday, Oberg and his sister-in-law were relaxing at the house. It's in Laporte, on Kiva Drive.
Just after 3 p.m., the back of the home caught fire.
The flames whipped around near the roof grabbing the attention of drivers on nearby Highway 287.
Within minutes, Oberg found himself surrounded by more than a dozen people – regular people, not firefighters – using the garden hose and buckets to try and put out the fire.
"It was smoking pretty high," he remembered. "That they knew what to do… they didn't really think about it, that's the cool part. They took action and they did what they had to do."
Those with Poudre Fire Authority say the effort saved the home.
The crowd left when the fire trucks arrived. Oberg didn't even have time to thank them, let alone get their names.
He later found out, in that group of Good Samaritans, there were two Loveland firefighters.
For those two and the other strangers who ran over, Oberg has two words: "Thank you."
As for the cause of the fire, Oberg says his sister-in-law had emptied the ashes from the fire pit into a trash can thinking the embers had cooled off. They hadn't.
Poudre Fire says embers can remain a fire risk for several days.