MODESTO (CBS13) – A Modesto man is being called a hero after saving a mother and daughter from a burning home.

The fire broke out just after midnight on Mt. Vernon Drive near Tully Road.

Firefighters say the smoke detectors were not working when the fire started.

A neighbor jumped into action helping the mother and daughter escape the flames.

“I heard people screaming about ‘Can you help us out the window?’ said Steven Kaharik who saved his neighbor’s from a fire.

“He went in the backyard and pulled myself out of the window and then grabbed my mom out of the other window. And then he went halfway back in and got my dog,” Heather Balls who was saved from a house fire.

Everyone was able to get out without getting hurt.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.