Lineworkers Alert Residents to House Fire

Perched upon a power pole well above the rooftops of a Garden Grove neighborhood, three Southern California Edison lineworkers were responding to a routine service call when their bird's eye view peeped something peculiar.

There was a cloud of smoke billowing about two blocks away that left them with an uneasy feeling.

"We were finishing up the job when we saw it," said SCE Journeyman Lineman Ray Sanchez. "I told the guys to pack up and meet me over there because I was going to go check it out."

Sifting through a list of potential causes in his head, Sanchez was hoping there was a logical explanation, like a neighbor barbecuing. That scenario seemed unlikely though as it was just around 9:45 a.m.

When he arrived at the origin of the smoke, he immediately sprang into action.

"Right away, I saw full blown flames erupting from the garage," Sanchez said. "I grabbed my fire extinguisher, jumped out of my truck and started pounding on the front door."

Sanchez was seemingly the only one aware of the growing blaze - even the sleeping family inside had not yet noticed the looming danger.

After a few frantic warning yells and door banging from Sanchez, one by one, four disoriented and barefoot residents ran from the smoke-filled home.

"It all happened so fast," said Sanchez. "After they came out there was a lot of commotion and screaming."

Amid the chaos, Sanchez was attempting to ease the flames with a garden hose - a battle he soon realized was futile - when one of the residents sprinted back into the burning home.

Unsure if there were others still trapped inside, Sanchez chased after her.

"It was like running into a room with my eyes closed," he said. "There was so much smoke I couldn't see anything, and I was worried if I went any further into the home, I may not find my way out."

Just then, the woman came running back and Sanchez followed her out. She had unsuccessfully been searching for her two dogs that were inside.

Moments later, the rest of Sanchez's crew showed up. Apprentices Theo Cason and Jose Torres moved quickly to help Sanchez attempt to temper the flames.

"When we got there, there was so much smoke we couldn't even see the front of the home," Torres said.

When it was clear their fire extinguishers and garden hose would not stop the inevitable loss of the garage and home, they turned their efforts toward wetting the surrounding houses.

"It was pretty scary for a minute, but we train for worst case scenarios at work, so we felt capable of jumping into action," Cason said.

What felt like a lifetime was, in reality, just minutes of chaos. Soon, the Orange County Fire Authority showed up to take over the firefighting efforts.

"We were dispatched at 9:57 a.m. and on scene in six minutes," said Sean Doran, OCFA fire captain and public information officer.

In 10 minutes, the approximately 30 firefighters on scene were able to knock down the blaze. In tandem with their fire suppression efforts, the crews also attempted to save the two dogs and one cat trapped in the home.

"Despite firefighters' best efforts, they were unable to resuscitate the two dogs," Doran said. "However, they were able to reunite the rescued cat with the family."

Next, to avoid a secondary electrical fire, the SCE crew waited until it was safe, then disconnected the service line from the burned home.

Finally able to take a breath, the impacts from the ordeal started to show.

"I was gagging and throwing up from the smoke I inhaled," Sanchez said.

"The ambulance took us to the hospital to get evaluated and we got chest x-rays done," added Cason.

Luckily, all three were cleared that day and able to go home for some well-deserved rest.

"Without SCE there to alert those residents to the fire, the situation may have ended very differently," said Doran.

While many commend the crews' actions as lifesaving and brave, they don't see it that way.

"We're just three guys trying to do the right thing," said Sanchez. "I hope someone would do the same for me in that scenario."