VIDEO/PHOTOS: A quick-thinking off-duty paramedic rescued a young girl from a burning home in East Hollywood Thursday night, authorities said, in a dramatic scene caught on bystandersโ accounts.
Richard Recinos was driving home from his familyโs Thanksgiving dinner around 11:30 p.m. when he noticed a bright glow in the sky near the 4700 block of W. Oakwood Avenue. As he got closer, he saw flames shooting upward and embers drifting across the street.
Recinos, a trained paramedic, arrived before fire crews and initially believed everyone had escaped. Then he spotted 7-year-old Savannah standing on the porch as the fire intensified. He zipped up his leather jacket for protection and ran toward her.
โConsidering the circumstances, I saw my opportunity for a quick grab and go, quick exit, and everything went well,โ Recinos said. He carried Savannah away from the flames and passed her to another bystander who stepped in to help. He called it a split-second decision he would make again โin a heartbeat,โ adding that it was โa big relief for everyone.โ
