Nashua firefighters responding to a fire that broke out at 9 Hughey St. on Aug. 29. Courtesy photo/DAVID MORIN

NASHUA – Jonathan Paradise and his daughter were just about to leave their house on the afternoon of Aug. 29 when they saw flames coming from their neighbor’s garage at 9 Hughey St.

Paradise sprinted to the house and began yelling and banging on the front door to alert anyone inside that there was a fire. Fortunately, no one was home at the time.

Then he noticed a garden hose stretched across the lawn. Other neighbors assisted him with making sure the hose worked and cleared debris away from the house.

“I’m not the type of person to just stand there and do nothing,” said Paradise. “I started spraying the fire that was stretching across the roof of the garage, working its way toward the house. I was able to extinguish a good portion of it so I moved onto the rest of the fire.”

He also noticed the homeowner’s car was parked in front of the garage.

“The engine block was on fire,” he said. “I moved my attention toward the car and tried to put out as much of the engine fire as possible so the car wouldn’t blow up.”

Paradise said the blaze was “80 to 90 percent” extinguished when firefighters arrived just before 3 p.m. Firefighters used two hose lines to knock down the remaining flames.

Because of his efforts, the fire never spread to the house and no one was injured. Paradise has been hailed as a hero by his neighbors and was credited with saving the home.

“I have lived in this neighborhood for a very long time, this neighborhood is very close. We all look out for each other,” he said. “It’s the type of neighborhood where when you’re driving down the street, everybody waves to you. During the Fourth of July, the neighborhood gets together for cookouts.”

According to the city Assessor’s Office, the home was built in 1953 and is owned by Carolyn Russell. It is valued at $445,500.