Neighbor Credited With Saving Woman in Fire
A woman was saved, though her cat perished, when a quick-thinking neighbor pulled her from her burning apartment Monday evening as she struggled for breath on the floor, fire officials said.
Brian Brissae, 54, heard a smoke alarm go off about 8 p.m. in the unit above his in the 3600 block of Bear Street, said Capt. Ben Gonzales, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Fire Department. Rushing upstairs, Brissae entered the burning unit, grabbed the middle-aged woman by the arms and pulled her to safety, Gonzales said.
“He basically saved the whole complex,” Gonzales said, “by closing the door behind him, which contained the fire.”
Firefighters were able to put out the blaze, which they tentatively labeled an electrical fire, in about 15 minutes, he said.
Officials later found the burned cat. They did not release the name of the woman, who they said was not injured.
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