Firefighter helps rescue dog while battling Eaton Fire: 'I need to find that dog'
While entire neighborhoods were ablaze in Altadena, California, on Wednesday, a scared dog named Max barked at the out-of-control flames engulfing his home.
A firefighter saw him curled up in his front yard, alone and scared. As the fireman sprayed the flames, the dog got closer and closer.
The fireman put his hand out. And the dog came.
"Visibility was pretty poor initially, so we found a place that we could stake out, especially with the winds and the conditions that we were in," firefighter Slater Lee told ABC News' Matt Rivers.
"I heard a dog barking, and I was like, 'I need to find that dog,'" he said.
"The whole garage was involved in pretty heavy flames, and I looked to my side, and the dog was seated with its tail between its legs, just curled in the corner of the front yard, still barking, just in a really sad position," Lee added.
Lee put his hand down every so often to coax the 60-pound dog into feeling comfortable with him.
"I had the nozzle in one hand cooling the garage, so [the fire] wouldn't extend over to the house, and then trying to pet the dog and make some light of the situation," he said.
Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire has continued to grow. It has now scorched more than 14,000 acres with 37% containment, according to Cal Fire. At least 16 people have died in the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner.
"I don't like to take individual credit for anything, you know, and by no means was it any sort of an individual effort," Lee said of comforting Max. "There's my whole crew behind me."
Lee has only been a firefighter for about six months, still on probationary status with the San Marcos Fire Department. His chief told ABC News that some new recruits come and go but "Slater is one of the good ones. He's going to be sticking around."
Lee kept the dog calm until another couple of concerned citizens were able to take him. They got him to safety, out of the fire zone, while Lee stayed behind, continuing his work.
Max is set to be reunited with his family, alive and well, if a bit traumatized.
