A Friend in Need : Quake Victim’s Rescuer Helps Him Pick Up Pieces of His Life

Six months ago, Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer Don Stein helped rescue Steve Langdon from beneath the collapsed roof of the quake-wracked Northridge Meadows Apartments. Now Stein is the only thing keeping a roof over Langdon’s head.

With about $20,000 in debts from the Northridge earthquake, Langdon is again counting on his savior’s help to survive--staying rent-free in Stein’s Van Nuys home while trying to recover financially from the disaster.

“Besides just being somebody that rescued me, we have turned out to be friends,” said Langdon, 46. “There’s a bond there. He was there to help me get back on my feet.”

Nor does Stein, who heard Langdon’s weak cry for help on Jan. 17, mind answering the call for help again.

“He’s so lucky to be alive,” said Stein, a 36-year-old mechanic at a Panorama City auto shop. “I want this guy to think there’s still hope left in the world. That somebody cares.”

The bond between the two men developed during a brief but emotion-laden encounter at the collapsed Northridge apartment complex Jan. 17.

A computer trouble-shooter working for a Van Nuys sportswear company, Langdon awoke at 4:30 that morning, about half an hour before normally getting ready for work. Unable to go back to sleep, Langdon rose from his bed to brew some coffee.

A minute later, his world collapsed.

The second floor of the complex dropped onto his ceiling, which crumpled onto his bed. Pinned between a dresser, the bed and the ceiling, Langdon feebly called for help. His roommate, 67-year-old Jerry Prezioso, was trapped several feet away.

Five hours later, Stein heard their cries and pinpointed them for firefighters, who used air bags to lift off the concrete, stucco and wood encasing them.

A broken collarbone, collapsed lung and five fractured ribs kept Langdon in the hospital through February, during which time he and Prezioso, who suffered leg and stomach injuries, were reunited with Stein.

Prezioso returned to his job as a Budget-Rent-A-Car employee, but Langdon did not go back to work until June 6, after five months recuperating with his family and girlfriend in Reno.

But Langdon’s finances suffered while he was away.

Although FEMA gave him $2,300, that money was used for living expenses in Reno. His share of medical bills after insurance topped $14,000.

“The only thing I had to come back to was my job,” said Langdon, who returned to the San Fernando Valley with hardly more than a sackful of clothes tossed in his Chevy Blazer. “I didn’t really have the money to move in anywhere.”

Fortunately, Stein had kept in touch. Hearing of Langdon’s plight, he offered his three-bedroom home.

Langdon agreed. In return, he buys groceries, takes out the trash and keeps the place clean.

But there is more than just housecleaning that makes Stein appreciate Langdon’s company. “I see a guy who’s been through such a trauma and has such a zest for life,” Stein said. “To see that come out of a guy, that’s something. He makes me smile just to be around him.”

The feelings are mutual, Langdon said.

Langdon is hopeful that changes will happen soon. Some of his next paycheck will go toward rent at Stein’s home. He also hopes that FEMA will give him more money to replace his property still wedged into Northridge Meadows..

“How can I repay somebody who has been at the right place at the right time and heard you yelling for help?” Langdon said. “There’s no way I can repay anybody for that. All I can do is have him hopefully understand how grateful I am.”