JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A DoorDash driver returning from making deliveries in a southern Indiana neighborhood early Sunday morning spotted a home in flames. He quickly made the decision to run to the front door and see if anyone was home.

"I had just finished a delivery and I just happened to look up and see it," said Corey Yoder, the DoorDash driver. 

It turns out, a family of three was sleeping inside. And they credit Yoder's knocking on the door, with waking them up.

"I'm a believer and God woke me up for a reason to hear that banging. I know. I know," said Marilyn McGarvey, the homeowner.

Yoder lives out of state and just happened to be in town visiting his girlfriend when they drove by and saw the flames coming from the home's garage.

"It really goes to show you can go to sleep and everything is fine and all of a sudden, something like that happens," said Yoder.

Cell phone video shows the seconds Yoder and his girlfriend pulled up on the fire in the 1500 block of Parkland Trail just before 2 a.m. Sunday. With no one in sight, Yoder's girlfriend urged him to park the car and knock on the door. 

"Go ring their doorbell, go ring their doorbell! Oh my God! Hurry Corey!"

Jeffersonville house fire on July 7, 2024

Pictured: this frame grab taken from cell phone video provided by WDRB viewer Brooke Dever shows the moments flames engulfed a home in the 1500 block of Parkland Trail in Jeffersonville, Ind., in the early morning hours of July 7, 2024. A DoorDash driver is credited with saving the sleeping family inside when he banged on their door to warn them. 

"I'm beating on the door and stuff and I'm like, 'Please answer, please answer,'" said Yoder.

McGarvey said she had taken a sleeping pill and didn't know the home was on fire until she heard the banging at the door.

"I just threw the door open and the young man's hollering, 'Your house is on fire!' So I yelled to my husband and son, 'The house is on fire! The house is on fire!'"

Everyone made it out safely, and McGarvey said Yoder's quick action likely saved their lives.

The most heavily impacted area of the home was the garage, but McGarvey said other parts of her house have smoke and water damage. She said the ceiling in her bathroom collapsed. She also said there were two propane tanks in the garage, not far from her bedroom wall.

"Got to have that faith that, you know, the sun will come out tomorrow and thank God it did for us," McGarvey said.

During the chaos, McGarvey said she never got to thank Yoder like she wanted. That changed on Monday, when she had a chance to meet the driver face to face, more than 24 hours after the fire.

"Thank you for saving my family," an emotional McGarvey said as she hugged Yoder. 

Jeffersonville homeowner hugs Door Dash driver

Pictured: in this frame grab taken from video dated July 8, 2024, a homeowner in Jeffersonville, Ind., hugs DoorDash driver Corey Yoder and thanks him for waking her family up in the early morning hours of July 7 to let them know their home was on fire. (WDRB image)

McGarvey's husband, a veteran, and his 15-year-old support dog also made it out OK. He shook Yoder's hand and gave him a military salute. 

"It's been a long time, but I salute you," he told Yoder.

Jeffersonville homeowner salutes Door Dash driver

Pictured: this frame grab taken from video shows a homeowner and Vietnam veteran in Jeffersonville giving a military salute to the DoorDash driver who woke his family from a sound sleep to let them know their house was in flames. (WDRB image)

The couple's 20-year-old son also escaped unharmed. 

Damage from the fire has forced the family out of their home for now, but their gratitude is stronger than the flames. 

McGarvey said it was out of character for her to throw open her front door at that hour of the morning, but said something told her to answer.

"If that young man hadn't been door dashing and coming by, I wouldn't be standing here. I really feel that," she said.

Some are calling Yoder a hero, but he says he doesn't really see it that way. He said the firefighters who showed up to put out the flames are the real heroes. 

"I just feel I'm doing my due diligence as a fellow human being, because it's the right thing to do," Yoder said. 

Door Dash driver Corey Yoder at scene of Jeffersonville house fire

Pictured: this frame grab taken from video dated July 8, 2024, shows DoorDash driver Corey Yoder, who made a dash for a homeowner's door in the early morning hours of July 7, 2024, to let them know their home was on fire. (WDRB image)

McGarvey said she called 911 as soon as Yoder came to the door. She said this experience is inspiring her son to consider trying to become a firefighter. According to Jeffersonville Fire, investigators are still working to determine the exact cause of the fire. 

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