'I call him a hero': Lloydminster man kicks in door to alert family to house fire

A Lloydminster man says his neighbour is a hero after he kicked in the door to alert the family to a fire.

Mike Champagne and his family were asleep early Sunday morning when a blaze broke out at the home next door.

“Around 4 in the morning there was a big bang at the door,” Champagne said.

“We thought we were getting broken into, so I jumped out of bed and come around the corner. That’s when the door comes flying open and Travis comes in the door, and he’s yelling, ‘Hey, you guys, everyone in this house get out right now, there’s a fire.’”

Champagne, his wife, two children, and a dog were able to get out of the house.

Mike Champagne says a neighbour alerted his family after the home next door to his caught fire. (Credit: Mike Champagne)

Ultimately, three homes, including Champagne’s, were damaged in the blaze.

The fire spread from the original house to the roof of his home, melted siding, and caused smoke damage.

No injuries were reported, the cause of the fire hasn't been determined.

Champagne says Travis Levitsky also alerted the residents in the home on the other side of the fire to get out.

“He actually went to the other house first, the house on the east side of the house that was burning, woke them up first, and then came to our house, because the wind was blowing at that house.”

Three homes were damaged by a fire in the early morning hours of Oct. 30, 2022. (Credit: Prime Time Local News)

He said he was reviewing the security footage from his home to send to the fire department when he came across footage from his doorbell camera of Levitsky trying to warn the family.

“I saw the video of him trying to break down the door, and I posted it on Facebook, and it’s gone viral,” he said.

“A lot of love, a lot of people calling him a hero, I call him a hero.”

Champagne said he’d never met Levitsky before the fire, but he’s grateful to have such a good neighbour.

“The man is a good man in my books.”

With files from Prime Time Local News.