A month after a stranger spotted a fire approaching the Shabtai family’s North Las Vegas home and stopped to warn those inside, the family is still searching for the man they believe saved their lives.
Lilac Shabtai said her family doesn’t know his name or where he came from. All she knows is that, at 4:51 a.m. on July 5, he noticed the fire while he and his girlfriend were driving along a nearby arterial road, turned into her neighborhood and began pounding on the front door.
She hopes that changes soon. The Shabtai family is searching for the man they say woke them moments before the fire spread, giving them enough time to escape and begin fighting the blaze themselves before firefighters arrived.
“He was godsent. I just want to give him a hug and say thank you,” Shabtai said in a Monday interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The stranger stayed long enough to help but disappeared before anyone could ask his name, she said. Shabtai’s sister, baby nephew and 82-year-old father were all able to get out of the house.
“I spoke with him for a minute,” she said. “But, with all the adrenaline going, I didn’t get a chance to thank him” and ask for his name.
North Las Vegas Public Safety Communications Manager Kathleen Richards confirmed that firefighters responded at about 4:55 a.m. July 5 to a residential structure fire on the 2600 block of Old Town Drive that spread to the neighboring home, where the Shabtai family lives. Fire investigators, Richards said, determined the blaze was accidentally ignited by the improper discharge and use of commercial-grade fireworks.
The other home sustained significant damage to its west wall, roof and portions of the interior, while the Shabtai home sustained minor damage to its east wall and soffit, Richards said, adding that officials estimated the fire caused approximately $500,000 in total damage.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident, she said.
For Shabtai, the fire was the culmination of a night she said had already left her worried.
She said other neighbors had been setting off what she described as illegal fireworks after midnight. After loud explosions woke her nephew, she confronted them and called authorities to report the activity.
The fire left lasting damage. Shabtai said the intense heat melted windows, warped doors, scorched landscaping and destroyed a backyard patio cover. She said repairs for her family’s property are expected to cost at least $4,000, while a neighboring family remains displaced while the house undergoes repairs.
The emotional impact has lingered long after firefighters left, she said. A ringing doorbell, someone yelling outside, or even one of the family’s dogs barking can instantly bring everyone back to the early-morning fire.
“People do die from fires,” she said. “I always have that in my mind.”
The family has since turned to Facebook, hoping someone recognizes the good Samaritan. Shabtai hopes the story reaches him. If it does, she already knows how she’ll thank him.
“I’m probably going to take him out to dinner — him and his girlfriend,” Lilac said.
Contact Lucas Hellberg at lhellberg@reviewjournal.com.
