A Powell homeowner saved his disabled wife from a Friday afternoon fire that engulfed the garage and damaged much of their house in a Powell neighborhood.

Tim Waters was taken to the burn center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for burns and carbon monoxide poisoning and his wife, Sally Waters, is hopeful he’ll be released this week.

Their house on Santa Fe Trail was seriously damaged by an electrical fire Friday afternoon.

A dozen Powell volunteer firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading beyond the house.

“The guys did a good job knocking it down,” Chief Dustin Dicks said.

Sally had called 911 after Tim tried to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher until the blaze got too big to handle.

“Tim told me when he used the extinguisher the fire got way worse, like it exploded and blew him back, knocking him down,” Sally recalled. “It was then that Tim came running up the hall, yelling to call the fire department. I called while he grabbed me and got me onto my walker and somehow rolled, then carried me on my rollator walker backwards out of the house, down the steps, across the lawn and across the street.”

Tim then went back in to get the car keys and managed to drive their car out of the garage.

“He came and sat on the curb next to me and we watched the garage burn,” she recalled. “The firefighters got the water on it just in time it seemed. It was out quick.”

Dicks said the state fire inspector determined it started due to an electrical issue outside the garage, which was declared a total loss. The house sustained heavy smoke damage and it was the first structure fire of that level the department has seen in awhile.

“We're kind of freaking out that we may have been living in a ticking time bomb the past 12 years,” Sally said. “We're thanking God it didn't happen at night; because we wouldn't have made it out.”

She said the state fire inspector, Dalton Sanders, is still researching the history of the house, which the couple has lived in since 2003, to learn more about the issue that started the blaze. It’ll be awhile until they can live there again.

“The garage is gone,” Sally said. “The kitchen and living room got so hot light fixtures and plastics melted, and a couple windows blew out. I think the rooms nearest the garage were seconds away from flames. The rest of the house is just full of toxic soot.”

Right now their insurance is housing them in a motel in town — she thanked Andy Solis at State Farm for going above and beyond to help them — but she said it’s tough to find places that aren’t already occupied that are handicap accessible.

“Heartfelt prayers in Jesus's name would be most appreciated. That's what pulled Tim through over the weekend,” she said, adding that her son Henry has been helping her while Tim is in the hospital. “We're really grateful to the fire department and EMTs for their commitment in helping Tim … We're also grateful to the VA in Cody. They've given a lot of support and are working to find a way to get Tim back here from Idaho Falls.”