A fast-moving fire at a Glendale, California, assisted living facility on Friday afternoon put six elderly residents in peril, but two brothers are being credited with entering the burning building and helping to save them.
Alex Bazinyan, 20, and his 15-year-old brother Narek, who live near the facility, were alerted to the blaze around 4:45 p.m. in the 1800 block of Mountain Street. Flames and thick smoke were already emanating from the home before firefighters arrived on the scene.
"I ran outside and I was looking at the front door when I saw the nurse outside and she was screaming for help," Alex Bazinyan told KTLA, describing the moment he realized people were trapped inside.
Narek Bazinyan initially attempted to use a hose to combat the flames, but as the fire intensified and cries for assistance grew louder, the brothers decided to enter the structure.
According to the brothers, eight people were inside the home, including two nurses who were struggling to evacuate the elderly residents. "I go inside this big room and I see all these old people on the floor with catheters," Alex Bazinyan recounted. "Some people were injured, had blood on their legs. We just took everybody out one by one."
With the assistance of two neighbors who joined the effort, all six seniors were safely brought outside to the front lawn before fire crews arrived. Alex Bazinyan reported hearing an explosion just moments after the last person was evacuated.
"As I’m looking around, I just see flames going up and coming towards me," Narek Bazinyan said of the rescue. "I tried bringing everyone out as fast as I could. There was smoke everywhere. I was pretty much blinded by the smoke."
The Glendale Fire Department chief suggested that an oxygen tank likely exploded, contributing to a partial collapse of the home. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread to other residences. Seven individuals sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The brothers described their actions as an instinctive response to help those in need. "It’s that instinct of whenever you see people in need, you want to help them out," Alex Bazinyan said. "You don’t really think about who it is. We have a really tight-knit community here."