PALM COAST, Fla. – A retired Marine, Robert Detherow, said he had just parked his motorcycle in the garage when it went up in flames.
"I didn't even know it. My son just happened to be walking by and said the bike was on fire. I looked down and it was," said Detherow.
Detherow said he had just gotten back from a short ride on his Harley-Davidson with his daughter. When he parked the bike in his garage, he realized that something was wrong.
The bike was making a strange noise that led him to add more fuel. Detherow's 14-year-old son, Riley, started yelling.
"It just caught fire while he was on it. I was like 'Get off!' He got off, but then it started spreading. I ran inside, got my sister out, then I got the dogs and cats," Riley Detherow said.
The father said he tried to battle the fire himself, but it got out of control and burned through the roof of the master bathroom.
"If had I been on the bike and Riley hadn't been there, I would of gone up in flames," Detherow said.
He said that his son is the real hero, but Riley believes that he just did what he needed to do.
The house has been deemed a total loss and the family is salvaging whatever they can from the debris. People in the community have assisted the family by stopping by the house and giving them money and starting a GoFundMe page; friends are letting them stay in an RV.
"Yes, we lost everything, but those are just items. We can replace those. I'm just happy everybody is safe, and everybody came together," Detherow said.