Chandler home goes up in flames; family of 4 escapes

A home in the east valley went up in flames early Thursday morning near McQueen and Frye. With the help of crews from other agencies, firefighters were able to put out the blaze, which was described by witnesses as very intense and fast-moving.

The flames consumed the entire home within minutes while a family of four was sleeping inside. According to Chandler firefighters, the family escaped through the home's second story window and slid down part of the roof's overhang.

Take a look at the photos - you can see how intense the flames were.

"The fire had spread very quickly.. it was on the bottom floor and you could see it coming through the glass windows up on the top floor too," said a neighbor. "I asked the dad a few minutes ago, he mentioned that he had to jump out the window.. they couldn't make it out from the front door.. he got out and had his wife and kids come out as well.."

The father told firefighters that he did not hear any smoke detectors and it was actually the smoke that woke him up since he was having trouble breathing. When he attempted to go downstairs to investigate, he realized they could not exit the home's front or back doors, so he had the family go out the window.

The Chandler Fire Department is hailing the father as a hero.

"I couldn't really see anything.. first thing I did, I went to my son's room.. opened the door, told him to get up.. then I went back to my room because my daughter was there with my wife.. had to get them up.. she was trying to go through the other window," explained the father. "I told my son to open the other window.. because the roof was right there, so we could jump down that way... I'm feeling very thankful actually.. I just thank God I got them.. they were waking up.. and out of the house."

The family is renting the home and they're unsure if there are smoke detectors in the house.

CFD stresses the need for smoke detectors and make sure you have an exit plan.

Not only did the family make it out okay, CFD crews donated $500 to them out of their own pockets. A Go Fund Me account has also been set up: www.gofundme.com/ct5ybgb3