Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, July17, Brad France became an unlikely, and most welcome hero. But herein lies a cautionary tale.
France, a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), was driving friends home to Woodland Hills after a night at the EchoPlex, when they spotted a car on fire in the turnout at Ed Edelman County Park on Topanga Canyon Blvd.
PHOTO BY BRAD FRANCE  At 4 a.m., Saturday, July 17, a car, presumed stolen, was engulfed in flames when Brad France and friends drove by but gave 911 a wrong location. Returning to the scene 20 minutes later, France and Lost Hills deputy sheriffs contained a brush fire until Capt. Ron Horetsky and the Engine 69 crew arrived to extinguish the car fire and smoldering hillside. |
"The car began violently exploding, so we called 911," France explains. I handed my phone to my friend, who gave the location as Santa Maria Road and Topanga Canyon Blvd. We then continued north to Woodland Hills where I dropped off the guys. At 4:18, I was heading back into the Canyon when I got a call from the 911 operator: ‘The firemen can't find the fire. Can you be more precise as to where it is?' I gave her the directions, floored the pedal and returned to the burning car."
Still, no one was there and the hillside had also caught fire. "Why couldn't they locate me through my first call," he wondered and, as he was about to call 911 again, he heard sirens. According to his cell phone log, it was 4:22 when two sheriff's deputies, George Howard and Rudolfo Fimbers-Torrontegui, from Lost Hills Station arrived. Torrontegui pulled a fire extinguisher out of the trunk and sprayed the hillside.
"Unfortunately," said France, "it didn't have much effect on the fire from a distance. Deputy Howard and I went down the hill and were stomping and kicking dirt onto the flames, but that wasn't working either. I ran back to my car for a couple of Pelegrino bottles of water, masked my face against the smoke and ran down to where three or four fires were growing. I got as close as I could and poured the water into the base of the flames and that worked. Deputy Howard and I then continued to stomp on the embers and finished the job." It also finished a brand new pair of New Balance shoes France had just bought: "A small price to pay, considering the circumstances," he said.
"Look at this," Deputy Howard remarked to France at the scene. "I honestly think we prevented this whole canyon from going up. Our extinguisher, your bottles of water, some dirt and, here, I just stamped out a few more embers."
According to France, the car was still burning at 4:45 when Capt. Ron Horetsky and the Fire Station 69 crew, delayed by the wrong location given to 911, showed up and doused the flames.
"The car was fully engulfed when we arrived," reports Horetsky, adding that they had to cancel the first call. They sprayed foam on the car and on the smoldering hillside, where about a quarter of an acre had burned.
"People in Topanga have to know how 911 works," Horetsky said. "East L.A. dispatches us - it doesn't come directly into Station 69 and they don't know Topanga. The location has to be accurate."
The incident was probably "a drop," i.e., the car, a Dodge Intrepid, registered to an Inglewood address, could have been stolen, stripped down, driven to Topanga and set on fire to destroy evidence of the crime. At press time, Detective Everett of the Arson Explosives Division said the case was under investigation.
"Let's all be grateful the winds weren't blowing that night," France said.
It's hard to repay a person's diligence and courage when you think of what the possible outcome could have been.
We can never be too grateful to the L.A. Sheriffs Department deputies, Capt. Horetski and his fire crew, who are always on the job. This time, Topanga also owes Brad France a big "Thank you!"
His video documenting the incident can be found on Facebook: www.facebook.com/v/418515497760
