They were at the right place at the right time and willing to help. And that made the difference.

Off-duty Fairburn firefighter Sgt. Paul Bell and his wife Emily, a nurse at Southern Regional Hospital, were nearing their home on Strickland Street in Fairburn on the afternoon of April 9 when they spotted smoke coming from a house a few doors away.

The couple called 911 and pulled up at the house. They began banging on the door in hopes of alerting anyone that might be inside the home, said Fire Chief Jody Weller. They got a response from two residents who worked night shift jobs and had been asleep.

Weller explained that the Bells’ had difficulty helping the residents escape the smoke and flames due to burglar bars on some windows and the absence of a key in the double-cylinder security door. That escape was accomplished after the Bells’ broke two windows and helped free the occupants, Weller said.

Firefighters responding to the call arrived to find heavy smoke and visible flames in the rear of the house, Weller said, adding that the fire caused moderate damage. One of the residents was treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics at the scene, he said.

Weller said the cause of the fire is under investigation, though the cause is not suspicious.

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