Source: Byran Dooley at the Idaho Press Tribune

NAMPA — A manager at a local pizzeria said she considers a coworker a hero after he noticed a fire during a Monday night delivery.

Karen Prescott, an assistant manager at the Chicago Connection on Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard, said Larry Firebaugh arrived at a home on the 900 block of Smith Avenue with a delivery, but nobody answered the door.

While waiting, Firebaugh noticed red flickering coming from inside the house. He contacted Prescott with a delivery radio and told her he believed the house was on fire, at which point she called 911.

Before firefighters arrived at the scene, Firebaugh noticed smoke and notified the resident of an attached housing unit the structure was on fire, Prescott said.

“He was patient enough and observant enough to wait and to notice the flickering and the smoke, and smart enough to call me, since he didn’t have a phone, and have me call 911,” she said.

Nampa Fire Deputy Chief Richard Davies said firefighters were called to the scene at 8:23 p.m. The fire was primarily contained to the kitchen area of the residence, he said. A female resident was transported for examination for possible smoke inhalation.

“It’s a good thing we got there when we did,” Davies said. “I think it’s remarkable that somebody would see something like that and check it out and call it in. Good thing he was paying attention.”

Davies said the fire caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the structure and about $500 in additional property damage. The cause of the fire had not yet been determined Tuesday, he said.