A dispatcher for the Blount County Communications Center, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Friendsville, spotted a fire on her neighbor's porch on Sunday and got the family out of the house while stopping the blaze from spreading.

Steve Hargis, public information officer for the Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, said Crystal Greene was driving home when she discovered the fire. There was a propane tank about 10 feet away from the porch fire and the fire was inching its way toward the manufactured home on Disco Loop Road.

Greene beat on the family's door to wake them up and was able to get them out of the house, Hargis said. She then used a garden hose to keep the fire from spreading closer to the home, owned by Coy Connatser.

"If it hadn't been for her, the whole trailer would have caught on fire," Hargis said.

Nine Friendsville firefighters responded with four trucks at 3:03 a.m. and had the fire under control at 3:20 a.m. They only used about 400 gallons of water, Hargis said. They then cut and removed the burned remains of the porch and moved it away from the residence.

Hargis said the fire may have been caused from hot remains of fireworks that were in a trash bag on the porch.