West Hills : Teens Called Heroes for Subduing Blaze

Three teen-age boys are being hailed as heroes in West Hills for putting out a fire in a neighbor’s home this week.

The boys said they noticed flames around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through a bedroom window of the home in the 7100 block of Briarstone Lane. Phillip Rothschild, 15, Nick Teslik, 13, and Doug Marihart, 13, said they called out to the occupants, and, realizing no one was home, entered the house, which was unlocked, and rushed into the bedroom.

The bed was ablaze and flames were already licking the ceiling, they said. “It was pretty scary,” Phillip said. “I was worried about a gas line blowing up or something, because then we all would have been screwed.”

Nick tried to put the fire out by tossing a cup of water on the flames, but it kept getting bigger. Then he dumped a big glass vase full of water hoping to douse the fire.

Phillip and Doug said they ran to their own homes nearby to grab fire extinguishers.

Using those, they eventually managed to quell the blaze.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis said the fire started when a lamp came in contact with the bed. It had been put out when firefighters arrived minutes after receiving the call at 5:37 p.m., he said, and the damage was minor.

An occupant of the home, who asked not to be identified, said Friday that he was grateful to the boys, because the fire could have consumed his entire home. He said he and his family planned to honor the trio with a party.