Sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time.
For Paul Murphy, that place was jogging past Courtney Polito's Scotts Valley home on Nov. 6.
Murphy was out running when he spotted smoke coming from a house along his route – and quickly jumped into action by alerting the homeowner via their Ring doorbell camera. "Hello. There's smoke coming out of the top of your house," Murphy told Polito, who answered remotely from out of town.
"It was terrifying," Polito later told Inside Edition. "When I answered the doorbell and saw the smoke I panicked immediately."
She then gave Murphy, a complete stranger, her home security code so he could get inside and rescue her two dachshunds, cat and rabbit.
"The first thing that went through my mind was 'Get my pets out of the house, please,'" Polito laughed.
Murphy punched in the code and made his way inside.
Moments later, video shows the jogger emerging with animals in both arms. He then went back inside for more pets. Murphy was gone by the time firefighters arrived on scene. After some effort, officials were able to track Murphy down so the family could thank him.
"I want to give him a hug," Polito told WTHR.
The fire was contained to the garage.
The Scotts Valley Fire Department might recommend Murphy receive a commendation, per KSBW.
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