The Southland Firestorm: A Special Report : The Firefighters : On The Fire Line : THE WARHORSE : ‘He Has a Knack. He Has a Feel. And He Has No Fear.’

After a full day watching television fire reports Monday, Mike Kelley couldn’t take it anymore.

The Burbank fireman knew “his guys”--the ones who call him “the old warhorse”--were in the midst of the Calabasas/Malibu fire while he was home on his duff.

Sure, it was his regular four-day break, but the 29-year veteran couldn’t stand being out of the action. “I hated it,” Kelley later said. “I just had to get in on it.

“That is my job. That is my life. That is what I do.”

So on Tuesday, the 52-year-old fireman left his home in Oxnard, drove to the station, pulled together some gear and was off in his red pickup for the brown fire cloud over Topanga Canyon.

Minutes later, he was dragging a hysterical mother and two children away from their burning home near Piuma and Stunt roads.

When Kelley arrived, the woman was reaching heavenward for help. Her boy and girl were screaming and crying. In a few seconds, Kelley had them in his truck, along with their German shepherd, Siamese cat and a handful of clothes. He drove them away from the flames and felt badly that he couldn’t do more.

“There were plenty of neighbors around to help. I had nothing to do but leave them on a hill there,” Kelley recalled. “But at least they were breathing some clean air.”

A day later, the volunteer-professional fireman was again in the fire zone, without pay, helping a reporter who was trying to get to his parents’ home.

Kelley gave the reporter a ride, shared in the elation when the family home was found standing and then spent an hour helping to douse the last few hot spots.

Mike Kelley was apparently born for to fight fires, said his boss, Burbank Fire Chief Mike Davis.

The rough-hewn Irishman sometimes annoys his supervisors, who say they think he has lost interest in mundane firehouse routines, like cleanup.

But put him near a fire, and look out.

“If I needed to send a guy into a (burning) structure to root around and find a problem, it would be him,” Davis said. “There is not a better firefighter on the job. He has a knack. He has a feel. And he has no fear.”

On Thursday, Kelley decided that he would actually take one of his days off. He planned to go fishing with his wife, Maria, just off the Malibu Coast.

Where they could both get a good view of the battle zone.