Haily ‘Moss’ Strong, 23, saw Brittany Downing, 31, and Josh Ellis’ home burning from a mile away in Fairfield around 1 a.m. on July 5, according to ABC 7 Chicago. She drove towards the flames before Ring’s camera showed her running to the couple’s front door and knocking on it, nervously telling Ring’s camera: “Guys, the garage is on fire!” When she arrived, the house was already engulfed in flames, according to Ellis, 33, who met Strong at the door. It is unclear what caused the fire. “I’m so sorry, your garage is on fire,” a nervous Strong said to a shirtless Ellis. “Oh st,” she said as she ran out the door.
Downing and Ellis were in their bedroom watching Stranger Things while their nine children slept in their rooms inside the house when Strong alerted them to the dangerous fire. The parents’ bedroom was closest to the garage, but they didn’t hear fire alarms as the fire had already engulfed the structure and the wind had blown the smoke away from their home. Haily ‘Moss’ Strong, 23, started hitting Brittany Downing, 31, and Josh Ellis’ home after noticing their garage on fire from a mile away and following the flames. Inside the house, was the Downing-Ellis family (pictured), including all nine of their children Although the cause of the fire is unknown, flames engulfed the garage, which was closest to the couple’s bedroom (pictured) As soon as they started to smell the smoke, Strong started knocking on their door. Strong did not know how many people were in the home when she stopped. “My fiance was looking at me and he said, ‘What’s that smell?’ and then there was a knock on the door. It was simultaneous,” Ellis told CNN. “Because we smelled it and someone knocked, we immediately knew, panic situation, something is happening because someone is knocking on the door.” Strong said she was “surprised” no one was outside when she arrived and yelled for her roommate to call 911. She told CNN, “I really didn’t think about it that much, I just jumped into action.” Ellis, 33, said Downing had turned on him seconds before Strong began knocking on their door to ask what the funny smell was. After learning their garage was on fire, parents began waking their children up and grabbing them out of bed. The whole family made it out alive Family huddles near front tree as flames engulf their home in Fairfield, Ohio Dashcam footage shows the family trying to leave the house as one of their children yells: “Move your as.” The parents ran around the house, banging on doors with two fists and “physically grabbing them off the bed.” “It was a knockout,” Ellis told CNN. Now they call the Strong family and credit their heroic act for saving their entire family.
“He saved our family, no exaggeration. He stayed and saved our family. I mean, the house was on fire,” Ellis told WLWT. Downing acknowledges the devastating outcome that could have occurred had Strong not stopped at their door, saying, “I don’t know if he and I would be here today for their children.” Downing would later post a screenshot of her on the Ring camera and thank the random woman on Facebook. The Ellis-Downing family and Strong would later reconnect on Facebook, with Strong revealing in the comments section that the woman in the screenshot and that she was happy everyone came out. The group will later reunite in person. Ellis (left) and Downing (right) watched Stranger Things while their children slept soundly before leaving their home Strong (pictured) said she was shocked no one was outside the home when she arrived, and Ring camera footage shows her running to the door and telling her roommate to call 911 The family and Strong were reunited (pictured) after Downing (far left) posted a photo of Strong (far right) on her Facebook page to thank the random stranger who saved her family. Strong revealed that she was the stranger in the comments, and they reunited in person afterward “It was really beautiful. I was surprised at how much emotion I felt. Obviously, I was happy to be able to help them out and get them out OK, but it was great to see them in person,” Strong told WLWT. DailyMail.com has contacted the Ellis-Downing family and Strong for comment.