MESA, AZ — A Mesa man rescued his wife from their burning home Wednesday night after a fire that started with his truck quickly spread to the front of the house.
Just after 9 p.m. near 78th Street and Baseline Road, Patrick Birney said someone pounded on his door to warn him his truck was on fire. Birney says he grabbed a hose and tried to stop the flames, but strong winds spread the fire to the front of the home with his wife still inside.
"You don't understand... my wife and pets are in the house. Nothing, getting my wife out of the house was going through my mind," Birney said.
Birney said getting his wife out was his only focus.
"Getting my wife out of the house was going through my mind. I didn't really care about anything else," Birney said.
Officials said police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene as the fire grew. Some of the response was captured on body camera.
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Birney and his wife made it out safely. The fire heavily damaged much of what the couple had worked for, but Birney said it is all replaceable.
"It's frustrating to lose a lot of, a lot of property, but again it's, it is just property, and we can always get it back," Birney said.
The couple is now focused on what comes next.
"Right now, we're just thinking about rebuilding," Birney said.
Birney said the experience put everything in perspective.
"To know that you went in there and saved your wife, what goes through your mind? So, I know she'd do the same thing for me," Birney concluded.
The family is now raising money online to rebuild after the devastating fire.
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