Woman thanks young neighbors for saving her life during Chester fire after Super Bowl

CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A woman is thanking her young neighbors who were still awake after watching the Super Bowl for saving her life when a fire broke out on a Delaware County, Pennsylvania block.

It started around 3 a.m. Monday on East 19th Street in Chester.

The fire in the twin home reached two alarms. Officials say it took about 30 minutes to get the fire under control.

Charmaine Burrell lives in the unit attached to the one that caught fire.

Burrell said she woke up to hear her smoke alarms going off. But then she also heard loud banging at her door.

"I didn't know if it was the toaster or what because that's how sensitive my smoke detector is," she said. "But he was hollering, banging on doors, 'Get out.' It woke everybody up."

When she went to answer it, she found her neighbors, a group of college students, standing there to tell her that she had to get out of her home.

The neighbors had seen the fire, called 911 and began knocking on the doors to alert the residents sleeping inside.

Jarrett Niland was among them. The Rhode Island student is staying with friends at the home across from Burrell's.

"We were up from watching the Super Bowl. We were in the city and we came down and we were just hanging out, finishing out the night, and then when action calls we gotta step into duty," Niland said.

Niland was still wearing his Eagles jersey when he described to Action News what happened.

"Ran outside. We got them out of the house safely before the fire got out of control. And then, luckily, our great fire department here in Chester put it out," Niland said.

Shortly after they alerted Burrell and her family, police arrived and made sure no one was trapped inside.

The fire department quickly followed.

While no residents were injured, one firefighter was checked out at the hospital.

A mayday call was placed when a firefighter fell through the floor and became trapped.

The firefighter suffered a minor burn to his leg and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Burrell says Niland and his friends are the reason her family got out so quickly.

Action News was there as she thanked Niland.

"Thank you, guys. I swear if it wasn't for y'all. Thank ya'll so much. Me and my family were in there asleep," Burrell said.

"As long as you guys are safe," Niland said.

The homes on East 19th Street are close to Widener University.

Chester Fire Commissioner Bill Rigby commended Niland and his friends for their quick action.

"We have a lot of students here and it sounds like some of our students were trying to knock on some doors and let some folks know we had a fire. So that was a good job," Rigby said.

"I'm an Eagle Scout, my boys are former volunteer fire department members," said Niland. "So we were ready to go no matter what. We weren't scared at all."

Two families have been displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.