Apr 23, 2006 By Josh Krysak 3 min read

When Roseann and Perry Gaddis left their Hopwood home April 14 for a vacation in Las Vegas, Nev., they knew they were leaving their longtime abode in good hands with neighbors Bruce and Dana Detweiler. In the predawn hours Tuesday, the couple discovered just how good of neighbors the Detweilers were when an electrical fire threatened to destroy their home and their beloved dog, Bo.

Roseann, 59, and Perry, 56, who recently retired as a teacher at Laurel Highlands, said the Detweilers moved in after they bought their home at 132 Locust St. and the couples struck an early friendship.

“They have been ideal neighbors,” Roseann said. “They help clear our driveway during snows every year and they have watched our house every time we go out of town.”

Roseann Gaddis said before departing she again called on the Detweilers to just keep an eye on the house they have called home since 1977.

“I asked them just as usual and I told them that if anything happens, don’t come over; just call 911,” Roseann Gaddis said.

According to Roseann Gaddis, Dana Detweiler was awakened around 2 a.m. by a loud “crackling, roaring sound.”

“By the time she saw it, the fire was really going by then,” Roseann Gaddis said.

The fire, which started from an electrical spark, had engulfed the Gaddis’ carport attached to their home.

Roseann Gaddis said Dana Detweiler hurriedly called 911 and the fire department before it reached the adjoining roof of the house.

“When the firefighters arrived, the eves of the house were already on fire,” Roseann Gaddis said.

Roseann Gaddis said the Hopwood Volunteer Fire Department responded quickly to the scene and rapidly doused the burgeoning flames.

“You don’t find that anymore in people,” Roseann Gaddis said of the Detweilers. “We have a street full of people but none like them.”

She explained that the quick-thinking neighbors and firefighters also saved their three dogs, including Bo, who was in a dog box attached to the carport at the time the flames broke out.

And, she said that while fire insurance will replace the burned carport, if the house had been burned, nothing could have replaced the couple’s home.

“They saved our home,” Roseann Gaddis said. “Had we been here, we would have ran out and doused the fire but we weren’t, and she saved our home. Where would we have gone? We are both retired. They are the kind of people you can rely on. I am thankful they were here.”

The Detweilers could not be reached for comment.