Firefighter Noticed Burned Dwelling, Then Instructed Girlfriend He Was Going Again to Work

• A Los Angeles firefighting household misplaced their dwelling within the Eaton Hearth
• As the remainder of their household evacuated, Captain Jerry Puga and his son initially stayed behind to assist, earlier than having to depart themselves
• His daughter Ally Puga, whose firefighter boyfriend went again to work after their dwelling burned down, tells PEOPLE that her household’s story reveals how “even within the face of tragedy” they “put different folks in entrance of themselves

Los Angeles Metropolis Hearth Division Captain Jerry Puga misplaced his dwelling within the Eaton Hearth — as did his firefighter son, his daughter and her boyfriend, who additionally works for the division.

The day the L.A. fires started coincided with Jerry’s first day again at work after having surgical procedure.

As a result of he was assigned to “mild responsibility,” Jerry, 50, couldn’t work a 24-hour shift, and after serving to to ship command automobiles to the Palisades he was despatched dwelling. After dinner, his spouse informed him she heard the Eaton Hearth was spreading to Altadena.

“We regarded out our window and we might see it,” says Jerry, who has been a firefighter for 22 years. “We simply see the glow.”

His spouse was involved and requested if they need to depart, however Jerry did not assume the state of affairs was that severe. “I used to be like, ‘No, we’re advantageous. The hearth’s to the east, the wind is blowing east,’ ” he recollects.

When the ability went out, he arrange flashlights and informed all people to only fall asleep. However round 3 a.m., he awoke and smelled smoke.

He determined to get into his automotive and drive round to see the place the hearth was. As he drove towards the mountains, he noticed the hearth was nonetheless within the hills — however the wind had shifted and was now blowing within the path of their home.

He known as his spouse and informed her simply to be secure, he needed her and their daughter, Ally — whose boyfriend, Sam Smiley, can be a firefighter with the division and was on responsibility on the time — to pack an in a single day bag and go to his sister’s home.

By the point he received dwelling, it was raining hearth in his yard.

“My dad was like, ‘Run,’ ” remembers his daughter, Ally, a 30-year-old speech pathologist. “I fell like 3 times simply working out the home. After which, there have been these dwell wires from all of the cables on the bottom. So there have been a number of components occurring.”

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She noticed neighbors throughout the road whose gates wouldn’t open due to the ability.

Her 22-year-old brother Adrian was at dwelling — and although he could not formally work due to a torn meniscus in his knee, she watched as he calmly sprang into motion to assist their frantic neighbors.

“My brother ran throughout the road and he was smashing the bins, so the gates might swing open and other people might depart,” Ally says.

Her father and brother helped Ally and her mom get into the automotive — however stayed behind to assist neighbors and struggle the hearth.

Armed with backyard hoses, Puga and his son tried to guard their dwelling, however after quarter-hour the embers raining in his yard have been too intense.

“My neighbors home is already on hearth, and that is once I realized how briskly and robust that is coming. I informed my son, ‘There is no such thing as a means we will do something with our backyard hose,’ ” he recollects. “And I say, ‘Let’s simply get the keys, let’s get within the vehicles, and take off.’ “

A number of hours later, they returned dwelling to see if there was something left, however it “was fully destroyed,” Puga says.

He and his son drove across the neighborhood placing out small fires and seeing if anybody wanted assist. “For probably the most half, the city was a ghost city,” he provides. “Most of it burned down.”

Within the days since, Jerry Puga has been discovering it arduous to imagine his house is gone.

“I went again to my home each morning after that fireplace, considering that I used to be going to see one thing completely different. I feel I used to be in denial and simply disbelief, and typically even just a little little bit of embarrassment as a result of I used to be like, ‘How can my home burn down? That is my job. That is what I do,’ ” he says. “Speaking to coworkers who have been on the hearth with the correct pumps, correct hose traces, even they inform me that it was very arduous to guard properties as a result of it was simply so intense.”

The morning after the hearth, Ally known as her boyfriend and informed her their dwelling had burned down. He informed his Captain, was launched from responsibility and got here dwelling.

However as soon as he got here again and noticed “there was nothing left” he decided: he was going again to work.

“He was like, ‘There’s nothing to salvage, nothing to avoid wasting. I am going to return.’ So he went again [to work] for like 5, six days straight,” Ally recollects. “He stated, ‘I can present a service, I am wanted, I will go.’ “

Ally, who has arrange a GoFundMe to assist her household, says she has at all times been happy with her dad, brother and boyfriend and the work they do serving to others — however this was the primary time she noticed them in motion.

“They put different folks in entrance of themselves, they’re protectors, they usually’re very brave,” she says. “Even within the face of tragedy, they’re like, “Okay, that is what we do. Bounce into motion.’ They’re all very selfless.”

Click on right here to be taught extra about how one can assist the victims of the L.A. fires.