The Eaton Fire will go down as one of the most difficult firefights in the crews’ lifetimes at Pasadena Fire Station 33.
Firefighter Rich Garcia remarked, “For the majority of the night, it felt like we were in a position of defeat.”
While embers were being shot more than a mile away by wind gusts of 100 mph, Garcia was among the first firefighters to reach the Eaton Fire. Maria Gonzalez-Garza’s home was among the thousands of Altadena and Pasadena homes that were destroyed by the fire.
“I realized that this house it wasn’t going to be there much longer,” Garcia stated.
Garcia and his crew soon discovered that it was too late to save Maria’s house. Garcia understood, though, that they still had time to dash back into the house and salvage what they could.
“We sprinted to the garage and picked up a few ice chests. simply loaded them up with stuff,” he remembered. “We left it in the driveway in hopes that when they returned, the ice chest would be there.”
It survived somehow. Maria’s wedding pictures and precious childhood images with her family in Cuba were among the artifacts found within.
“That was just unbelievable to me. Who was responsible for that? Who was inside the house? Like, a firefighter, of course,” Maria remarked. “Having spent the entire night watching the news, I was aware of the strain they were under. to witness that someone actually gave us some thought, not just the assignment.”
Particularly when the assignment involved battling one of the most catastrophic disasters in California’s history.
Maria remarked, “That was just so moving,” “We wanted to know immediately who were these angels who were here.”
Fortunately for Maria, Garcia was also curious about whose house he was in at the time of the Eaton Fire. Garcia looked up the family on social media and discovered their GoFundMe page, where people are lending them support. He returned to join them.
“The joy that it brought them in the midst of them losing everything else,” remarked Garcia. It was really heartwarming. I was astounded.