WHEELERSBURG, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Two strangers who live homes apart were brought together by the threat of tragedy.

It was a dangerous, but rewarding way of saying "howdy neighbor."

Andrew McGowan is disabled but likes to help neighbors mow their grass. But recently his routine came to a blistering stop.

“I know that something's wrong with it, then all of the sudden, it just went poof,” McGowan said.

His lawn mower caught fire. Mr. McGowan has had a stroke and lost a leg to diabetes, so basically he was trapped, surrounded by flames when his neighbor, Stephanie Collins, yanked him to safety.

“I ran over to him, got my arms up underneath him and I just pulled him off to the side," Collins said.

“I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't got him off there,” Peggy McGowan, his wife, said. “He could have been burned alive."

Before the accident, the neighbors had never formally met. Now, their relationship's seared by the creed.

“I just didn't think. He was in danger. I can't teach my kids to do the right thing if I don't do it. If I turned around and let him be, how is that an example for my children?" Collins said.