Firefighters Make Rescues in Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) — Two people were killed when a fire ripped through a group home for people with special needs in Santa Ana on Wednesday.

When firefighters arrived at a home on the 2100 block of North Hathaway Street, flames had already engulfed a bedroom and the garage. Neighbor Hugo Montes saw the blaze as he was leaving for work and grabbed a garden hose.

“I just felt the heat from the flames on my face. It was real intense, but I couldn’t do anything with that hose. It was just too much,” Montes said.

Firefighters rescued two people from the burning house, which is a licensed group home for developmentally disabled adults. Their 71-year-old caregiver suffered burns and inhaled smoke trying to save two women trapped inside. She suffered serious injuries, including burns to her hands, arms and face. She was being treated at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

The Orange County Fire Authority said the two women, ages 48 and 52, died in the fire.

“One was found in her bed, and one was found on the floor in her bedroom. We had four other patients transported,” said Steve Concialdi with OCFA.

Three special needs residents, between 30 and 60 years old, were treated for smoke inhalation. A firefighter was also injured in the fire. He suffered burns to one of his hands during the rescue.

Jean Camacho’s mother is the caregiver, who looked after five adults for several years. Camacho said she also worked at the center and knew the residents well.

Neighbors were awakened to the sound of fire trucks early in the morning. Knowing two developmentally disable people did not survive was heartbreaking for neighbor Mari Lu Velazquez.

“I’m sure either they went into shock, if they knew what was going on. It’s just devastating just to imagine what might have happened,” said Velazquez.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

It was earlier reported that a child was killed in the fire. Officials have since confirmed that there were no children in the house at the time of the blaze

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=9385734

countyfiretactics

Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.

Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.

He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.

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