It was like something out of an old movie, but it really happened last night in San Leandro: A woman jumped from her burning, second-story apartment and was caught by four strong neighbors holding a blanket.
“It’s common seeing people helping others during a fire,” Alameda County Fire Battalion Chief T.J. Welch said. “But I don’t know the last time I ever saw someone jump into a blanket.”
The middle-aged woman, who was not identified, jumped 18 feet onto the blanket. She was taken to Eden hospital for a medical checkup, but apparently was not injured, Alameda County Fire spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.
The fire began when a deep fryer malfunctioned in her apartment at 184 Callan St. in central San Leandro. The other occupants of the apartment escaped, but the woman did not.
She broke out a window and began screaming, Knowles said. A neighbor, Mark Montoya ran barefoot back into his apartment, grabbed a blanket, got the help of Mario Sanchez, 16, a San Leandro High football player and two others. They each held a corner of the blanket and the woman jumped, landing safely in the blanket, Knowles said.
Firefighters were on the scene within three minutes of the alarm, Knowles said. But they credited two other apartment residents, Lincoln Taukave and Tyari Washington, for using fire hoses at the three-story apartment building to try to knock down the fire before firefighters arrived.
The fire was confined to the unit, Apartment 210. But there was smoke and water damage to four other apartments, Knowles said. It took firefighters 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze. Damage was estimated at $500,000.
Fifteen residents were displaced and although the American Red Cross was notified, a majority found temporary housing with family and friends, Knowles said.
West Coast 911 firefighter news source – The Daily Review
You must log in to post a comment.