Pasadena firefighters rescue family photos during Eaton Fire
For the crews at Pasadena Fire Station 33, the Eaton Fire will be remembered as one of the hardest firefights of their entire lives.
"Majority of the night, it felt like we were in a position of defeat," firefighter Rich Garcia said.
Garcia was one of the first firefighters to arrive at the Eaton Fire while 100 mph wind gusts shot embers over a mile away. The flames burned thousands of homes in Altadena and Pasadena, including Maria Gonzalez-Garza's house.
"I realized that this house — it wasn't going to be there much longer," Garcia said.
When Garcia and his team arrived, they quickly realized it was too late to save Maria's home. However, Garcia recognized there was still time to rush back into the home and salvage whatever they could.
"We ran to the garage, grabbed some ice chests. just filled them up with some belongings," he recalled. "We left it in the driveway in hopes that when they returned, the ice chest would be there."
Somehow, it survived. Inside were pieces of Maria's family history, including wedding photos and priceless childhood pictures with her family in Cuba.
"It just, I couldn't believe that. Who had done that? Who was in the house? Like, obviously a firefighter," Maria said. "I knew the pressure they had been in because I had been watching the news all night. To see that somebody really took the time to think about us, not just to think about the task."
Especially when the task was fighting one of the most destructive fires in California history.
"That was just so moving," Maria said. "We wanted to know immediately who were these angels who were here."
Luckily for Maria, Garcia also had the urge to know whose home he was in during the Eaton Fire. Garcia tracked the family down on social media and found their GoFundMe account where the community is showing them support. He went back to meet them.
"The joy that it brought them in the midst of them losing everything else," Garcia said. "It was very touching. I was blown away."
