How a Lowe's delivery team saved a house from burning down

Max Henson Updated
Max Henson

Staff Writer

Jul 27, 2020

“Do you have a fire extinguisher?”

It’s not a question Allison Riddick expected to hear when her new dryer unit was being installed.

But that’s exactly what happened in late March when Garry and Greg from the Lowe’s delivery team came to Riddick’s home in central Texas.

“When they plugged in the dryer our electricity flickered off and on, and that was strange,” Riddick recalled, “but I didn’t really think anything of it.”

But just before he was getting ready to leave, Garry noticed some smoke coming out of the air conditioning vents. He suspected it was coming from the attic and asked to investigate.

“They said, ‘We can’t leave you with a fire in your house,’” Riddick recalled.

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When he returned from the attic, Garry told Riddick and her husband to grab their dog, exit the home and call 911. That’s when Greg retrieved a fire extinguisher from the delivery truck and Garry put it to use to extinguish the flames before the fire department arrived.

His quick actions proved vital.

“The fire department told us he definitely saved our house,” Riddick said. “If that fire had continued until they got there it would have been much more serious.”

The root cause of the fire was a gas leak that was ignited when the air conditioner cycled on.

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After things had calmed down, Riddick reached out to Lowe’s store manager Gilpatrick Suarez to praise the heroic efforts she witnessed. 

“She couldn’t stop ranting and raving about what could have happened if Garry hadn’t been there,” Suarez said. “She wasn’t so sure someone else would have done that. It’s not their job to do that. Had they waited for the fire department… the damage would have been severe.

“We talked for a while. She said she came into Lowe’s later on that same day and bought two fire extinguishers.”

Riddick was determined to make sure people knew what Garry and Greg had done to help her. She was elated to learn that both men had received Angel Awards from Lowe’s to celebrate their lifesaving actions.

Lowe's is all about making homes better. In this case, Riddick was just thankful that these Lowe's heroes were there to ensure her home was still standing.

“I thanked them profusely,” Riddick said. “This is really huge. I wanted to make sure people knew, because we avoided a couple serious disasters. We will be forever grateful and will be Lowe’s customers for life.

“There are good people in the world,” she added. “It gives you hope in humanity after something like this.”