18-year-old Eagle Scout honored for saving family's home during Palisades Fire
As the Palisades Fire raged toward his neighborhood, 18-year-old Andrew Grinsfelder stood on the roof of home hosing it off in a desperate attempt to save it.
Just hours earlier, Grinsfelder had been in class at UCLA. But when the wildfire neared, he rushed home with his parents protect their property. He and his mom walked along the beach while his dad stayed behind due to a back injury.
"We got to our house, we took out the water pump and proceeded to hose down the house, our house as well as the house next to us," Grinsfelder said.
For his efforts, Grinsfelder has been recognized with the MagLite Tough Civilian-Hero Award, which honors individuals who demonstrate resilience and bravery in times of crisis.
"Andrew certainly showed ingenuity, durability, grit, toughness, and he made his house indestructible, which is why he is such a great fit for this MagLite Tough Civilian-Hero Award," said Lou Desmond, a MagLite spokesperson.
During the quick ceremony, Grinsfelder was given a MagLite with his name engraved on it by MagLite founder, owner and president Anthony Maglica.
An Eagle Scout, Grinsfelder credited his preparedness to training from the Boy Scouts and his father, a former assistant Scout leader.
"My dad doing lots of thinking ahead was prepared incase there was no water, no power, or anything like that," said Grinsfelder of his dad's purchase of their gas powered pool pump a year prior.
Faced with the challenge of getting the hose onto the roof, Grinsfelder relied on his scouting skills.
"There were some logistical problems, so I had to use some Boy Scout knots to tie a rope to the hose and hoist it up. That definitely came in handy," he said.
His mother also played a critical role-rescuing neighbors' pets and retrieving medications.
"We did shifts on the roof, kept buckets of water on hand in case embers landed, and had the pump ready to go,"said his mother, Vicky Collison.
Looking back, Grinsfelder and his family admit they would not take the same risk again.
"It was really dangerous and I think if Id had know the scale of this fire the mega fire that happened I probably would have said do not go up there," said Dean Grinsfelder.
