Video captures Colorado wildfire evacuee's heartwarming exchange with firefighter via Ring cam
It's not every day that you get to talk to your heroes as they are working around the clock to protect your home from a wildfire. However, that is exactly what Tom Stonebraker has been doing through his Ring camera since evacuating from his Colorado home on Deer Creek Canyon Road.
"I've been able to see what's going on the whole time and it's just really been impressive," said Stonebraker.
Stonebraker evacuated from his home last Wednesday after the flames from the Quarry Fire started to get too close to his home in Jefferson County.
"I'd say by 1 o'clock it was within 300 yards of the house," said Stonebraker. "Mind-blowing, the fire and the magnitude of it."
While he has been waiting to return back to his home, Stonebraker has been using his Ring system -- which includes cameras on his property -- to watch the fire's impact.
"I was watching my cameras and the one on the fire station was pointed down a little bit, and I thought, 'Man if I can get that pointed up just a little bit, I could see the side of the mountain better,'" he said.
Two days ago, Stonebraker saw firefighters stationed outside of his home, and thought to ask one of them to move the camera through the device's speaker.
"I guess I really scared him because he didn't expect anybody out there to be talking to him," said Stonebraker.
What happened after that became a heartwarming exchange caught on camera between Stonebraker and Grand County Fire Protection District's Chief Mike Scott.
"It was really nice to be able to say, 'The folks down here, especially me, you're guarding my house, I appreciate you,'" he said.
Stonebraker thanked the firefighter for answering the call to help protect his community through this wildfire, and Scott thanked the community for supporting the firefighters through this challenging time.
"I said, 'Would you mind if I put you out there on my Twitter page,'" said Stonebraker.
He and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office published the Ring video online, which has since sparked public attention.
"Now, I find out that the other firefighters are calling him Hollywood," said Stonebraker.
Stonebraker hopes the message behind the video will resonate with all first responders who've been battling Colorado's wildfires.
"He is a very wonderful representation of all of the people who have stepped up and done this work where nobody is going to personally say thank you to them," said Stonebraker. "We're hoping in the next couple of days to get back in, and then I'm hoping Mike's still there, so that I can shake his hand personally. Otherwise, wherever he is, I'm probably going to go get my car and shake his hand."