Greendale man saves mom, baby from house fire

(GREENDALE, Ind.) – A Greendale man is being credited with saving the life of two people during a fire this past weekend. 

A home in the 300 block of Ridge Avenue caught fire on Sunday afternoon. 

Matt Wuestefeld and his wife, Erin, happened to be driving by and noticed the smell of smoke. 

Wuestefeld then saw flames coming out of the house and went to the door to alert the residents. 

The people inside were a mother and an infant who had fallen asleep.

“I had woken up seconds before he knocked and was in shock and confused to see smoke. Smoke alarms were not going off yet,” she said. 

Matt got both of them safely outside and then noticed her car in the driveway would prevent firefighter access to the home.

He went back into the home while it was on fire and got her keys, a baby carrier and a bottle. 

He also made sure the fire hydrants were accessible before firefighters arrived. 

“The most important thing is that we got her and the baby safely out of the house,” Wuestefeld said. 

Seven fire departments fought the fire and their efforts were impacted by the heavy winds on Sunday. 

The family lost all of their valuables in the fire but are alive because of Wuestefeld’s actions. 

"The words thank you could never repay you for your act of bravery but he deserves to be recognized for what he did for me and my baby,” she said.