These Cal Fire/RivCo Firefighters Saved A Home Full Of Memories In Altadena: Eaton Fire

TEMECULA, CA — A group of Temecula Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters have returned home after the January firefight in Altadena. Captain Will Smith and his crew have battled fires across Southern California for decades. One story will linger in his memory, he said.

Smith's crew headed to battle the Eaton Fire as soon as it broke out, driving the engine from Temecula to Los Angeles County. They had been fighting fire for 24 hours when they spotted a woman attempting to douse her home with a garden hose.

When Smith and firefighter Cameron Cable met with Deborah Ross, they saw a "sweet-looking and stubborn" woman trying to save her home.

The team parked and prepared to battle the blaze amid gusting Santa Ana winds and blowing embers.

"Everything across the street was in flames," Deborah Ross told KCAL news. She began to panic, she said, "screaming and hollering and got real scared" as flames erupted in her neighborhood. She said Embers were flying across the street as big as your palm. "It was like a dream or something."

Then, she saw the arriving engine.

She told reporters that Embers were blowing, and the sky was filled with ash. As the firestorm raced through Olive Avenue, the Temecula firefighters halted at her home.

"Two trucks pulled up, and this big tall White guy gets out of the fire truck, and he jumps up and says, 'My name is Will, and I'm getting ready to save your house."

"I said to him, 'You don't give a blink about my house,' but he said, 'I am going to save your house. We will save it.'"

Days later, the engine returned to Olive Avenue to meet with Ross as she returned for some personal items. She hugged them and shared her gratitude.

Due to their efforts, she says her home suffered only smoke damage. Ross spoke with Smith and crew by phone, telling them she would always be grateful. "Will, If you're out there, thank you! I love you guys."

The City of Temecula shared their homecoming in a recent social media announcement, saying the Station 73 group is "home safe after their mutual aid efforts assisting with the Palisades and Eaton Fires," they said. "We are proud of them all and send a big thank you to the fire department not only for their work here in Temecula but also for their help and service to other communities when called upon."