"Of course I was devastated and shocked," said Madden. "But I couldn't just stand there to watch it burn. I needed to do something, so I put on my CERT helmet and vest to help direct traffic in the area."

It all happened on May 7, when an explosion followed by a two-alarm fire broke out at Madden's house at 10101 Imperial Ave. around 2:40 p.m. Although the fire was contained within two hours, the house was completely destroyed.

According to Jim Swanson, public information officer for the Santa Clara County Fire Department, the fire department received a call at 2:06 p.m. regarding a gas leak at a construction site on Imperial Avenue at Granada Avenue.

Firemen arrived on the scene at 2:10 p.m. to help with the gas leak and at around 2:40 p.m., an explosion blew in Madden's 1,200-square-foot house, which was located next to the construction site.

There were no major injuries, though the explosion knocked a woman to the floor of her Granada Avenue home across from the construction site. She suffered neck and shoulder pain and was taken to the hospital.

A PG&E worker who was near the site when the explosion took place also suffered minor injuries.

Minutes before the explosion took place, Madden was working around his house.

"I was doing some carpentry work on my patio and I ran out of screws. When I was on my way to the hardware store, I saw fire engines on the street and smelled gas. That was about 2 p.m.; I had no idea what the problem was," Madden recalled.

Within an hour, the gas leak caused by a rupture of the gas line led to the explosion.

When Madden returned, his house was already engulfed in flames. But instead of panicking over his loss, Madden put on his CERT helmet and went to work. So as his house was burning to the ground, Madden helped to keep things in order by directing traffic in his neighborhood.