Jul 1, 2008 6:23 am US/Pacific
Woman, Dog Rescued From Burning San Fernando Home
SAN FERNANDO, Calif.
Firefighters rescued a 21-year-old woman and a dog from a blaze inside a two-story home in San Fernando early on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The fire at 1216 Hollister St. was reported after 2:30 a.m. Approximately 40 firefighters extinguished the blaze in 15 minutes, said Melissa Kelley of the Los Angeles Fire Department, which serves the city of San Fernando.
The victim's mother and 70-year-old grandmother were sleeping on the first floor of the house when they were alerted to the fire burning on the second floor. Both escaped without injury.
The mother called for help and told a fire department dispatcher that her house was on fire and that her daughter was trapped on the second floor, along with a family pet that was somewhere inside the house, she said.
Firefighters found the small white dog on the first floor, Kelley said. The dog was not hurt.
Firefighters then moved upstairs and found the bedroom where the the young woman was trapped as the fire raged nearby, she said.
She was conscious, Kelley said. "Firefighters assisted her down the stairs, and she was able to walk on her own," she said.
The woman was trasported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills for possible smoke inhalation and is listed in stable condition, Kelley said.
"It was such a coordinated effort from the moment the call was taken, to the dispatcher talking to the mother, to the units being warned of the person trapped, and firefighters locating the victim and the dog," she said.
"Every effort made was coordinated from the moment the call was taken to the time of knockdown."
The cause of the fire is being investigated, she said, adding the damages were being tallied.
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