A family in Stony Point managed to escape a devastating house fire, with the help of someone they didn?t even know.

The fire broke out Sunday night inside the garage of the Viola family's Park Road home. Homeowner Margie Viola credits a passerby with saving herself, her husband and their cat.

"The man was driving by the house and saw flames coming out," Viola said. "He parked his car and banged on our door to tell us to get out immediately, that the house was on fire and we did."

Amateur video shows flames engulfing the structure. Firefighters admit they had a difficult time fighting the intense flames.

"It was 10 degrees when we got here," said Stony Point Fire Chief Adam Feuer. "Everything was freezing up from the gauges on the truck to horrific road conditions. We had several firefighters slip and fall."

The family lost four generations of pictures and memorabilia, which Viola said she had hoped to pass on to her six children and 13 grandchildren.

For an interview with the homeowner, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.