Tags: altadena | california | wildfires | firefighters | los angeles | brian fennessy

Calif. Fire Chief Saves Homes Using Milk, 'Couple of Beers'

By    |   Friday, 17 January 2025 02:50 PM EST

A quick-thinking fire chief in California used milk and "a couple of beers" to save two homes from the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area in recent days.

When the Eaton fire sparked in Altadena on Tuesday, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy told his brother and friends in his hometown that there was "nothing to worry about," ABC7 reported.

But once the blaze reached the neighborhood he grew up in hours later, Fennessy told the outlet his brother's "phone stopped working" and he feared "the worst."

"I thought, 'I need to get up there,'" he said.

On the way over, Fennessy got a call that his brother and family had safely evacuated, but he decided to check on his property anyway.

Nearly 50 years as a firefighter did not prepare Fennessy for what he saw, and he described it as "a total nightmare" in cellphone video he took of the damage.

"I have not seen anything like this where you drive for miles and miles, and there's massive destruction," Fennessy said.

While multiple homes in the neighborhood were fully engulfed in flames, the fire chief was shocked to find that his brother's home and a neighbor's were still standing.

After clearing fuels that were close to the buildings, Fennessy discovered that the gas meter on the neighbor's property was melting. He found a hose but no water and forced his way into the home in search of anything to cool off the meter.

"I thought, 'I'll check the refrigerator,' and all that was in there was some milk and a couple beers," Fennessy said.

"[I] went back out and kind of ran back there and cooled it off and pulled it back a little bit," he said. "It wasn't completely out, so I wasn't sure if it was going to rekindle, but it was all I could do."

According to ABC, Fennessy's resourcefulness was all it took, and the two homes are the only ones left standing on that block.

If he didn't act, Fennessy said that it was "unlikely" firefighters would have arrived in time to try to save the homes.

"We tell everybody: Call 911, and we'll be there," he said. "This was a situation [where] you call 911, it's unlikely we were gonna be there."

The experience taught him that firefighting in Southern California has completely changed, and the recent fires could be "our new reality."

"This house to house, these urban conflagrations, we're going to start seeing them more and more," Fennessy predicted.

Santa Ana winds have caused fire conditions in Southern California to worsen since Wednesday, and fires continue to consume areas in and around L.A. since the Palisades fire broke out on Jan. 7.

More than 12,300 structures and 40,000 acres have reportedly been burned, and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. At least 27 people have been killed.

Nicole Weatherholtz

Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


US
A quick-thinking fire chief in California used milk and "a couple of beers" to save two homes from the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area in recent days.
altadena, california, wildfires, firefighters, los angeles, brian fennessy
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2025-50-17
Friday, 17 January 2025 02:50 PM
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