thedrifter
11-09-08, 07:16 PM
Marines credited with rescues in Calif. motel fire
Sun Nov 9, 4:29 pm ET
LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Off-duty Marines are being credited with saving lives after spotting flames and smoke at a California motel and rousing sleeping guests.
Orange County fire chief Kris Concepcion says the fire broke out Sunday morning at an Americas Best Value Inn in Lake Forest.
The chief says six Marines on leave from Camp Pendleton who were staying at the motel raced door to door to warn guests. They even carried one elderly man to safety.
No one was killed or seriously injured, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Marines say they were just doing what they had been trained to do.
Ellie
thedrifter
11-10-08, 08:49 AM
Fast-acting Marines save lives in motel fire
Six-alarm blaze destroys Americas Best Value Inn in Lake Forest.
By SUSAN GILL VARDON
The Orange County Register
Comments 44 | Recommend 23
LAKE FOREST - Residents of a Lake Forest motel are crediting six on-leave Camp Pendleton Marines with saving their lives when a six-alarm fire broke out Sunday in the motel.
The fire started at 7:56 a.m. at Americas Best Value Inn at 23150 Lake Center Drive, according to OCFA Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion.
The cause of the fire is unknown and two, two-story wood-framed buildings at the motel are probably a total loss, Concepcion said.
The fire, which displaced between 100 and 150 people, was contained about 11 a.m. A shelter and service center was opened at El Toro High School, said Daphne Hart of the American Red Cross.
There were no injuries reported, but one firefighter was overcome by smoke and treated at the scene.
Residents said six Marines who were staying at the motel banged on windows and doors, dodged through flames, yelled at residents to get out and helped those still in their rooms to collect their belongings.
Amy Amadito-Phelps, who was staying in a room on the second-floor of the third-story structure, said she, her husband and 14-month-old son would probably have died if not for the Marines.
"We were right next to a room completely on fire and we couldn't smell smoke," Amadito-Phelps said. "No fire alarms were going off. The only thing we heard was Marines banging on our windows and telling us to get out."
Marine Pvt. Colton Oliver said he and two other Marines were walking along the second-story landing about 8 a.m. when they noticed flames shooting out behind a soda machine. They saw smoke streaming out of some of the rooms and decided to act.
Oliver, Pvt. Josh Hernandez and Pvt. 1st Class Thomas O'Brien ran along the corridor, knocking on doors and windows to make sure everybody got out. The other Marines joined in.
Hernandez carried one older man out from his room, they said, and ran directly under flames to help residents, they said. He was treated with oxygen after the fire.
"Everybody was out by the time the firefighters got here," Oliver said. "It's what we're trained to do."
Kenneth Evans, who was staying on the second floor, said the Marines saved his life.
"The fire was blazing and smoking, but they kept yelling that there was a fire and got everybody out. I'd probably be dead now if not for them."
OCFA Capt. Steve Pardi acknowledged that the six Marines were the first to take action in their building.
"I'd call them absolute heroes," he said.
Concepcion said 19 fire engines, six trucks and 100 firefighters responded to the fire. He said it would be a while before residents could go into rooms to check on their belongings. The nearby Irvine Suites Hotel and another hotel under construction were not damaged.
Amadito-Phelps stood outside the charred motel this morning and cried.
She said her family has been staying at the motel for two months. They checked in after they were evicted from their Lake Forest apartment because her husband's flooring contracting job wasn't paying enough.
"My wallet, my laptop, baby stuff, everything is in there," she said. "Everything is gone."
Staff writer Rosalba Ruiz contributed to this report.
Ellie