Saturday morning and I'm outside painting our New Windows! A helicopter is circling over my house! People are hurrying up the hill in front of my house.

I look up the hill and this is what I see three doors down from me!

There are no fire engines, no sirens, just smoke and a helicopter circling. Then, LAPD cruisers show up.




Ten minutes, yes, the longest ten minutes it seems I have ever felt, before the engines show up. The firefighters were brilliant! The hoses hooked up before they even reached the house.

I never knew there were so many connection to hook up the those fire hydrants! And three onto the truck (pumps the water, I found out later)







Close up action! The house on fire is right behind the yellow one up the hill.

Soon, they were on the roof cutting the vent hole with chain saw and axes.









There was a lot of smoke. We found out, the owners were on vacation. Cause: smoldering electrical fire.

My windows were going to have to wait. The whole neighborhood was on my corner.






In front of my house, command central. Within minutes, there were seven, yes, seven hook and ladders, paramedics, command response team, 4 police cruisers, even parking enforcement. The yellow tape sectioned off the whole hill, leaving us trapped.
Rehab and air control arrived by the time the fire was out with gatorade and oxygen for the firefighters. Next, the news van arrived and then the insurance vultures! Yes, "public adjusters" they call themselves snooping around, lingering, trying to get information from every and any one around. Then, it was back to painting. . .