Girl, 8, Saves Family From Fire

Defective Christmas tree lights that were left on overnight ignited a fire that heavily damaged the home of a West Covina family early Sunday, but a quick-thinking 8-year-old girl prevented the tragedy from turning deadly.

Young Rachell Donelan--weary from a day of Christmas shopping with her family--fell asleep on the living room couch while watching television Saturday night.

Shortly after midnight, she was awakened by heat from the flaming tree and raced throughout the home, alerting her grandmother and mother.

“It was so hot I thought it was the heater. I was gonna get up and shut it off, but when I got up the fire was right in front of me,” Rachell said. “I told my mommy and grandma the house was on fire.”

Rachell’s grandparents, mother, sisters, ages 5 and 4, and brother, 2, were able to escape the flames, which destroyed the living room and blackened the walls of their three-bedroom house on the 2200 block of West Havenbrook Street.

During the 12-minute blaze, Rachell’s mother, Terri Vanbiver, 27, was forced to flee with her 2-year-old son, Kevin, and 5-year-old daughter, Andrea, through the window of the bedroom they share. Grandparents Rick and Sharlene Vanwest escaped with Rachell and Vanbiver’s other child, 4-year-old Dezaray, through the home’s backdoor.

“We crawled on our knees under the smoke,” Rachell said.

West Covina Fire Battalion Chief Gary Meir said the blaze appeared to have been caused by a faulty wire in the Christmas tree lights, purchased only days before from a major department store. The house had a smoke detector but no battery inside.

The family will stay in an Azusa hotel provided by the Red Cross for the next several days, then will be housed by their insurance company while the home is repaired.

Fortunately, the children’s gifts, which had been bought during Saturday’s shopping, were still in the trunk of Vanbiver’s car.

“That’s probably the only good thing,” Vanbiver said.

Meir said the city’s police and fire departments will give the children extra gifts and provide the family a Christmas ham and turkey.

Meir said the Christmas lights were Underwriter’s Laboratory approved and could have been left on indefinitely if in proper working order. But, he said, Christmas lights should never be left on overnight because defects may not be readily apparent.