Rod Schrader was in driving by with his family when a fire caught their attention

“I noticed a bright ball of light,” he says. “I just ran up to the bay window then and looked inside to see if anybody was in there."

95- year old Francis Introwitz was inside his Park Avenue home in Chippewa Falls last night, watching TV with his caretaker Shannon Doe. She says they didn't even know the garage was on fire.

“I heard the banging on the front door and I heard there's a fire in the garage, and I was like ‘Oh my God!’” she says.

Schrader says he went inside to help Introwitz, which Doe says she might not have been able to do herself.

"The guy actually lifted Frenchie up and put him in his wheelchair for me," says Doe.

Schrader says the front door had been blocked, but he cleared the way. Another man was waiting to help lower Introwitz down the steps.

"He came to help me out the door because there was no ramp there," says Introwitz.

Introwitz and Doe both made it out safe. Schrader says he doesn't think his actions were in any way heroic.

"I think of myself as a good Samaritan and I did what anyone else would do," says Schrader.

Francis Introwitz's son says he's very grateful for everyone who helped his father to safety.

The Chippewa Falls Fire Chief says Good Samaritans rarely are seen on fire scenes: Most people call, but don’t stop.

The Chippewa Falls Fire Department says a cigarette likely started the fire. The caretaker says she's sorry, because she was smoking behind the garage before the fire started.