Though he was off duty, Aurora firefighter Aaron Garcia couldn’t just drive past a burning house.
Eastbound on Illinois Avenue Tuesday afternoon, Garcia noticed smoke coming from a two-story house on the 700 block of North May Street on Aurora’s Near West Side. So at the next intersection, he turned the car around and pulled into the driveway, he said.
The Aurora Fire Department responded to the call at 3:49 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from public information officer and firefighter/paramedic Richard T. Dahleen. Incense burning inside had caught paperwork on fire, officials said.
“It was puffing out of the house,” said Garcia, a firefighter and paramedic who’s been with the department about 25 years.
A girl was outside, on the phone. He asked if she was calling 911, and she said yes.
She also said, “Get my grandpa,” Garcia recalled. The man had gone back into the house to get one of the family’s two dogs which was still inside.
Once inside the house, he estimated flames reached about 4 feet high. An elderly man was trying to put them out, and Garcia helped him outside, he said. At some point, a neighbor came outside and brought a lawn chair for the man to sit on, Garcia said.
In the house, Garcia tried to grab a shovel, but it was hot to the touch. He quickly found a bucket, filled it with water from the sink and poured it over the flames, repeatedly, he said.
Garcia said he had the fire mostly put out by the time fire crews arrived about five minutes later, and he made sure to tell them the fire was inside the walls too.
Firefighters arrived to smoke coming from the rear of the two-story, single-family home, and pulled a hose line inside to extinguish the fire, officials said. More crews arrived, and they ventilated the home to prevent further smoke damage. A total of 12 firefighters went to the scene — and rescued the other dog who was in the house, according to fire officials.
Officials said the fire caused an estimated $20,000 in damage and no injuries were reported.
In a statement, the fire department said it’s important to “get out and stay out” during a fire, and to have a meeting place somewhere outside the home.
While Garcia said it can be dangerous to try putting out a fire with proper equipment, he and his wife — who was with Garcia when he noticed the fire — said they wished more people had stopped to see if they could help.
“It was rush hour,” Garcia said, noting many cars driving by. “Not one soul cared to stop by and see what was going on … where is the community?”
For Garcia, “all it was was just caring, and doing something, and being at the right place at the right time.”
Garcia’s wife said she was struck by the concern the “sweet young girl” had for her grandfather.
She said it’s “humbling” to know how her husband of nearly 15 years can react, even though he’s not wearing his uniform, wanting to help out when someone’s in need or trouble.
“It’s just in the blood after a while,” she said.
