Viral video shows heroic off-duty paramedic and neighbor helping save family from fire in Larchmont

LARCHMONT, CALIFORNIA: A viral social media video shows a neighbor and an off-duty paramedic saving a family from a raging fire in Larchmont, Los Angeles, as burning embers rained down around them.

Families in the Larchmont neighborhood narrowly escaped danger over Thanksgiving weekend after hot flames came dangerously close to their homes when a tree caught fire. 

Seven-year-old recalls fire safety lessons during Larchmont blaze

The fire broke out on Thanksgiving, just before midnight, when trees near a two-story duplex caught fire. A clip of the burning tree was soon shared across social media.

Ari Vokydis, the neighbor, said, "I was upstairs, and I heard what sounded like a snowstorm, like snow hitting the window. I looked up, and it was ash. It was all sort of bright red outside."

"I told my wife to call 911. I woke up the kids. I came down here and banged on the door to wake my neighbors up. Their child was the first one to wake up," the neighbor added. The child, Savannah Vasquez, 7, was awake and waiting for her mother to come home, but was instead greeted by her neighbor and the blaze. She said, "At first I thought it was just my imagination, but then it got warm, too. I just standed there for like 10 seconds. I didn't know what to do."

The little girl said she remembered her school's fire safety messages. She recalled, "Don't grab anything, leave the house, leave wherever you are," adding, "I told my grandma that there was fire, and she went to go alert everybody at the house."

Off-duty paramedic rescues young girl from Larchmont fire

Firefighters arrived in the neighborhood to contain the blaze and were joined by off-duty paramedic Richard Recinos, who had seen the fire from his home.

Savannah recalled, "That guy just came out of nowhere, and then I was there, and then he helped me get out of the fire."

A viral video shows the dramatic moment Recinos ran with Savannah in his arms, carrying her away from danger as ash and embers fell around them.

Recinos said, "I had a leather jacket. I zipped it up, adrenaline kicked in and I ran in to go get her." After the rescue, firefighters quickly extinguished the flames. The family said they are grateful to be alive and to still have their home. 

Savannah's mother, Martha Vasquez, said she is eternally grateful for Recinos’ actions, adding, "Saving my daughter is saving my heart." Savannah, who suffered minor burns and blisters on her feet from the hot debris, said, "Grandma's car is now like a marshmallow."

Firefighters said the cause of the fire remains unclear.