Three strangers passing a burning house in Paradise Hills save a 93-year old woman stranded on the second floor.
The house went up in flames right before three Thursday afternoon on the 2400 block of Calle Aguadulce.
Richard Burke had just picked up his stepson from school. He told San Diego 6, "I could smell smoke."
Marcos Usquiano had just finished some construction nearby, only minutes before.
"Driving by the house, I saw smoke coming from one of the top windows," explained Usquiano. "I turned around, came back. I didn't think too much about it. I jumped out of my van."
These two strangers joined together with a third passerby to save a life.
"I was trying to gain entry into the house to see if anyone was in there," said Burke.
The men had to break into the house which was protected all around with steel bars on the windows.
"We were looking for an entry point," said Usquiano. "There was a window that was opened but barred. We were able to get the bars off the window."
Once inside, Burke and a second man ran up the stairs to find the elderly woman who firefighters say was surrounded by black smoke on the second floor.
"That's where I saw the lady standing," said Burke. "So we helped her down the stairs."
Firefighters say an electrical short on the air conditioning unit on the second floor caused the blaze. There was about $200,000 worth of damage.
Propane Fire
PINE VALLEY - A leaking propane tank burst into flames and set a Pine Valley home on fire along with some surrounding brush Thursday evening.
Residents of the house in the 8400 block of Valley View Trail were cooking in their back yard when the blaze erupted about 5:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
Crews were able to quickly extinguish the brush fire, which scorched about a quarter-acre, but it took them nearly an hour to fully douse the flames that spread through the structure, said Cal Fire Capt. Daryll Pina.
Medics treated a reserve firefighter at the scene for difficulty breathing he began suffering while helping quell the blaze, Pina said. No other injuries were reported.
A monetary-loss estimate was not immediately available.
