Some are calling a Middletown police officer a hero after he spotted a house fire and started pounding on the home’s door to alert the family sleeping inside early Wednesday morning.

Tim Meehan of the Middletown Division of Police was tending to a routine traffic stop when he saw smoke and flames coming from the residence at 2524 Buckingham Court around 2 a.m.

Five people including a 6-year-old boy and an elderly woman were sleeping inside the home, but were able to escape unharmed after hearing Meehan’s knocks at the door.

“I woke up with him beating at the door,” Melissa Pearson, a 42-year-old resident of the house, said. “We opened the door, I grabbed my mom got her out, and my son grabbed his son and got him out.”

“Timmy Meehan, he’s my hero,” she said.

Firefighters, who had already put out two "significant" fires earlier in the night, arrived on the scene just after 2 a.m. and put out the fire quickly. They determined that the flames started in the home’s garage, but are still investigating the cause.

Responders were initially concerned about a grill with a propane tank inside the garage, but were able to control the flames before it reached the tank. A truck inside the garage was damaged and the rest of the house sustained major smoke damage.

Middletown Fire Department Captain David Adams said the residents were fortunate Meehan happened to be in the area.

“It’s a very good thing that he was in the area and that he acted quickly and alerted the residents,” Adams said.

But Meehan wasn’t the only one who acted quickly. Middletown resident Britnee Carter said she was on her way back from the store when she saw smoke from the fire.

“I thought it was a smoke pit,” she said. “But something, I say it’s God, told me to turn down the street and when I turned I saw smoke coming from the house and I could see the garage was on fire.”

Carter called 911 and watched the scene unfold.

Adams said it’s important that firefighters are alerted quickly.

“The quicker we’re notified the better so certainly call 911 immediately  [if you see a fire],” Adams said.

Meehan and one of the residents at the scene were treated for minor injuries at the scene and the American Red Cross is helping the family find a place to stay, according to firefighters.

After the incident, Pearson said she was just happy everyone was safe.

“It scares me to death,” Pearson said. “I’m just glad we’re all out. It could have been a lot worse.”