'Don't lose me': Woman, 100, rescued by deputies as Eaton Fire approached senior living facility

David González Image
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Deputies rescue woman, 100, as Eaton Fire approached senior facility
Harrowing video shows two deputies rescue a 100-year-old woman as the Eaton Fire approached her senior living facility.

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A harrowing video released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Tuesday showed two deputies rescuing a 100-year-old woman who was left behind as the Eaton Fire approached her senior living facility.

The body camera footage showed deputies Nicholas Martinez and Quinn Alkonis using flashlights while walking through the evacuated MonteCedro Retirement Community's darkened halls, shouting and going door to door searching for anyone left behind.

"We aren't firefighters," said deputy Alkonis. "Fire is a big unknown to us. We were pretty afraid."

As they witnessed the inferno getting closer through the facility's windows, their search intensified.

"So what was going through our minds was let's move efficiently and quickly to get anybody out that's been left behind and then get out of there," Alkonis said.

Suddenly, the deputies heard a distant voice.

"In the back of my mind I hoped that everyone was out so typically when I've walked many empty hallways searching for things, but I've never had anyone yell out help before sir it was definitely very concerning," Martinez said.

"Hello? Where are you at?" the deputies shouted into the distance as they turned the corner and saw the 100-year-old woman approaching them with her walker.

"I've been trying to find a way out," the woman told the deputies.

"Let's get you out of here," the deputy responded.

"Where do I go? Don't lose me," she said.

"I promise I won't," said the deputy. "No, we won't lose you. Don't worry."

The woman explained that she hadn't heard the deputies shouting because she is deaf and couldn't charge her hearing aids.

The deputies were able to get her to safety.

"It feels special to be able to be that for somebody and we're here to protect life and I'm glad that we could do that for her," said Alkonis.

"I was thinking about my grandma," Martinez added. "About how I would want a deputy or an officer treating her. Just making sure, reassurance that she's going to be OK."

Deputies Martinez and Alkonis are assigned to the Carson station but were part of a vast deployment of first responders who rushed into the danger zone in Altadena, an area they were not familiar with.

"It could have been very bad in reality if we weren't there at that moment, but I'm glad that we were able to get the job done," he said.

Sheriff Robert Luna said, "The deputies' courage and selflessness exemplify the highest standards of law enforcement, and they deserve our deepest respect and gratitude."

According to a statement released by MonteCedro Retirement Community, eight buses were used to transfer almost 200 residents, but the woman, along with another independent living resident, did not make it to the buses.

The statement said in part, "Fire personnel and MonteCedro team members made two complete tours through the building, which included triggering the fire alarm and inspecting every residence. However, two independent living residents were not encountered and did not make it to the buses."

The president and CEO James Rothrockalso said the following: "Once it was clear that MonteCedro had to be vacated, the ECS and MonteCedro team had one goal-the safe evacuation of every resident," said Rothrock. "Working closely with the Sheriff's Department and Fire Department, we did that. Successfully moving nearly 200 people, some with cognitive issues or other impairments, away from their homes in a couple of hours is cause to give thanks. Having said that, we have discovered gaps in our planning and execution that we are working to understand and correct. Like hundreds of agencies and institutions in the Los Angeles area, we were faced with an unprecedented challenge, and our response to it merits a deep, unvarnished review."

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