Caught on Ring video: Neighbor saves family from burning Toms River home

🔥Frantic neighbor alerts family as fire erupts late Saturday night

🔥Family, baby and dog escape moments before flames spread

🔥Improperly disposed of smoking materials caused the fire

TOMS RIVER — Dramatic Ring video captures the moment a fire spreads in home Saturday night as a neighbor frantically bangs on the door.

"Your house is on fire! Get out!" the man says as he frantically rings the bell and bangs in the door of the home on Leawood Avenue in Toms River just before midnight. A piece of debris falls on the neighbor's shoulder as he backs away from the door.

Jonathan Pope and his wife, carrying their 9-month-old daughter and a corgi, burst through the door and made their escape.

Pope said their neighbors were in their garage when they heard the cracking of the fire.

"He saw the whole front of the house was lit and came over and started banging on the garage. We weren't answering because we were basically sleeping," Pond told New Jersey 101.5.

Neighbor’s Quick Action Saves Family, Baby, and Dog

Pond said that he and the neighbor were casual acquaintances and not really friends. That changed Saturday night.

"We are now. The guy basically saved me and my family," Pond said.

Pond had to run around to the back of the house to make sure his stepdaughter got out. It turns out she was not home.

Toms River Chief Inspector and Fire Official Matthew Janora said fire spread from the garage door and up a porch stair area. It traveled vertically into the attic and second-floor bedroom.

Cigarettes that were not improperly disposed of caused cardboard boxes and a township-issued trash container to ignite. The house has been determined to be uninhabitable.

Pope has created a GoFundMe campaign to assist with his family's recovery from the fire.

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