Orange County, California, fire chief had to use milk and beer to save two Los Angeles homes (including his own brother's) from intense flames when nearby fire hydrants ran dry .
Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Chief Brian Fennessy has nearly 50 years of experience. said He initially thought his family's Altadena home was safe when the Eaton Fire broke out on Jan. 7, according to ABC7.
However, Altadena, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, quickly became a casualty of the fires.
Fennessy recalled that she feared the “worst” when her “phone stopped working” while trying to check on her brother.
“I thought I had to go there,” he told the local ABC station.
When she arrived in her childhood neighborhood, she found that her family had already been evacuated, but the streets were “an absolute nightmare.”
Miraculously, my brother's house and the house next door were still standing.
Realizing that his neighbor's gas meter was melting and almost setting the rest of the house on fire, he rushed to put out the fire, but there was no water.
Quick-thinking first responders broke into the house looking for something to turn off the melt meter.
“I decided to look in the fridge and all it had was milk and a few bottles of beer,” Fennessy said. “I went back, ran back there, cooled it down and brought it back a little bit.”
Although he couldn't “completely” turn off the meter, he said it was “all he could do” at the moment, and it paid off in the end.
WATCH — California racetrack hosts aid for Eaton fire victims: Food, clothing, phone:
The two homes Fennessy saved were the only two remaining on the block, ABC7 reported.
Fennessy said the meter was “not completely gone” and “we didn't know if it was going to flare up again,” but it was “the only thing we could do” at this point to save the house.
But the newspaper said his efforts were enough and only two houses remained on the block.
Mr Fennessy said it was highly “unlikely” that other firefighters would be able to reach the street before it was fully engulfed in flames.
WATCH — Relentless: Firefighters battle Palisade fire on 8th day:
“I urge everyone to call 911 and we'll be right there,” he said. “This was the situation. [where] If you call 911, we are unlikely to be there. ”
Firefighters are still battling an ongoing, nearly 40,000-acre wildfire that has killed people. at least 27 people Since the fire started 10 days ago, NBC News reported.
Fennessy said intense fires could become a “new reality” for the Los Angeles area.
“We're going to see more and more of these house-to-house, urban fires,” he told ABC7.
