Los Angeles firefighters and a girl whose house they shielded from the Palisades Hearth proved that kindness and braveness generally is a highly effective mixture in a time of tragedy and devastation.
Mahsa Naghash and her husband had been pressured to evacuate from their Pacific Palisades house Jan. 7 as flames and sizzling embers fanned by a Santa Ana windstorm threatened their neighborhood. Video from the primary hours of the hearth, which destroyed hundreds of constructions, confirmed a neighbor’s home catching hearth in an unsettling scene.
However earlier than Naghash evacuated, she wished firefighters to know the way a lot their heroic efforts within the face of brutal situations had been appreciated. Naghash gave them a handmade tile she purchased at a historic mosque in her house nation of Iran.
“I told them there’s something, just to say thank you. That’s it,” Naghash mentioned.
LAFD firefighter-paramedic Andrew Mott mentioned Naghash’s considerate gesture meant far more. It a vivid spot at a discouraging time as flames burned total neighborhoods to the bottom.
“Her kindness and her generosity just touched our hearts in a very special way,” mentioned Mott.
Firefighters have described situations on Jan. 7 as among the many worst they’ve ever seen. The fireplace began that morning and, pushed by 60 mph to 80 mph wind gusts within the preliminary hours, grew to grow to be the third-most damaging hearth on document in California.
“It was unbelievable, truly. To experience that level of wind, that speed of wind, with a fire behind it,” mentioned LAFD firefighter-paramedic Tony Verdecia. “We’re the folks presupposed to be bringing an answer and there was a sense of… we’re not in a position to.
“These weren’t just homes. These weren’t just buildings. These were people. These were families that were either losing everything or on the brink of losing everything.”
In what appeared like an unlikely final result after they left, the Naghashs’ home was broken, however nonetheless standing. When she returned a couple of days later, there was a observe on the door.
This is what it mentioned: “Hello, This note is from Andrew and Tony, the 2 firemen you met, and gifted the tile to. We came back to check on you and your home. We are thankful to see the main portion of your home is ok. I’m sorry about the loss in the backyard. We hope you are safe and doing ok. If you like to stay in touch, feel free to reach out. Respectfully, Andrew and Tony with the LA City Fire Department.”
Naghash mentioned she was overcome with gratitude.
“I don’t know how to describe my feeling to be honest with you. I don’t know what to say,” she mentioned. “If I need to begin speaking, I can’t cease crying.
“They risked their lives. God bless them.”
it has been almost two weeks for the reason that begin of the historic wildfires in Southern California, here is a glance again on the moments captured within the first 24 hours of the devastation. Photographer Sean Browning studies for the NBC4 Information at 11 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2025.
NBCLA tracked down the 2 firefighters with assist from social media. They mentioned they noticed a earlier NBCLA report detailing Naghash’s expertise.
Mott mentioned the tile held particular that means for him. He has visited Iran a number of instances in what he described as life-changing journeys.
The firefighters mentioned they left Naghash’s house on the chaotic and night time of Jan. 7 to proceed the battle elsewhere. They returned the subsequent day with the observe.
“In a moment when there’s so much destruction all around us and she’s on the brink of losing her family’s home, and she thinks, ‘Let me bless them with a gift,'” Verdecia mentioned.
The firefighters and their households plan to get along with the Naghash household for dinner within the months forward.
“I felt like I really couldn’t do enough in that moment to really say thank you,” Mott mentioned. “So it actually sat heavy on Tony and my coronary heart. We simply wished to take that further effort, take that further effort to return that generosity and return that kindness.
The Palisades Hearth has destroyed 6,770 constructions. It was at 23,400 acres Thursday with containment at 72 p.c.
About 900 constructions had been broken by the hearth.
Twenty-eight deaths have been confirmed within the Palisades Hearth and the Eaton Hearth in Altadena, which began the night time of Jan. 7.
