WESTMINSTER : Janitor Who Helped Fight Fire Honored

Westminster Unified School District custodian Larry Thompson was formally recognized by the school board Thursday night for his quick action to help save a burning house last month.

As he was making his noontime rounds Dec. 17 at Finley Elementary School, Thompson, 42, noticed a plume of white smoke rising from a nearby home. After he told school staff members to call 911, he saw 25-foot-tall evergreen tree explode into flames as he bolted toward the house, he said Friday. The blaze was so intense that he could feel its heat from across the street, he said.

Then the roof of the house caught fire. Thompson said he noticed a hose in a nearby garden and that he rushed to turn it on and aim the water at the roof.

“I was covered with soot and (my clothes were) burned full of holes. I was quite hot,” Thompson said of his experience.

As soon as firefighters arrived, Thompson returned to the school because “I had to get back to my job.

“A group of little kids were clapping for me when I got back, and it made it all worthwhile,” he said. “It added an element of excitement to my day.”

Thompson, who lives in Huntington Beach, started working for the district six months ago. Being honored for his good deed makes him “feel great,” he said. “I’m a relatively new employee, and doing something like this and being recognized for it has been the high point of my employment.”