LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4)– Two homes were burning in Littleton when another home catches fire just a few house away– sparked by embers from the homes on fire up the block. That’s when neighbors sprang into action, grabbed garden hoses and tried to put out the fire.

Copter4 flew over the two homes on fire on South Bemis Circle about 4:30 p.m. Friday when the crew noticed smoke from another home just a few houses away.

Upon closer inspection, the roof of that home was burning.

Steve Haskell didn’t wait for fire crews to arrive.

“No one was in the back yet, so I grabbed their hose,” said Haskell.

Haskell stood on the outdoor oven and sprayed water on the burning roof with a garden hose to keep the flames from spreading.

“They are like family to us and the best neighbors we could possibly have and it’s their house and I wanted to help them,” said Haskell.

Copter4 video shows that he wasn’t alone.

“We never met Dan, but thank God for Dan!”

Dan, a stranger to the homeowners, just happened to be walking the path behind the home when the first flame sparked.

“He originally spotted the fire and ran down the street and told the fire department,” said Gavin Tarr, the homeowner’s son.

Jonathan Tarr said he is in awe of the effort his neighbor and that stranger, Dan, put into saving his home.

“We will be forever grateful for what he did. There would have been a lot more damage,” said Jonathan Tarr.

The cause of the house fires up the street that started the third fire is being investigated. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.