Fireman Credited With Saving a Life

A Los Angeles fire captain gave up his own life-sustaining supply of oxygen to a man stricken in a Watts residential fire, probably saving the man’s life, a city fire spokesman said Sunday.

The blaze, which left five people with burns and other injuries, broke out about 10:25 a.m. Sunday in a storage shed between two duplexes at 1508 E. 110th St., said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Fire Capt. Donald Paone, a 20-year veteran of the department, joined other firefighters battling the blaze, which spread from the shed to the adjoining duplexes.

After rescuing a man trapped in one of the duplexes, firefighters learned that a second man was trapped in the rear of one building.

Paone found the man crouched in a bathroom where the smoke was so thick that firefighters had only a few feet of visibility.

Paone gave the man his breathing mask and began carrying him outside. A second firefighter met them on the way out and shared his oxygen with Paone, Humphrey said.

The 60-year-old man was taken to King/Drew Medical Center and was later released.

The other victims were treated for burns and smoke inhalation at King-Drew and St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood.