GARDEN GROVE : Neighbor Rescues Man, 61, From Fire
Fire officials Monday credited a quick-acting neighbor with rescuing a man in a wheelchair from his burning apartment.
About 9 p.m. Sunday, 61-year-old Richard Masse was pulled from his burning apartment in the 12100 block of Bayport Street by his neighbor, Sandy Ramirez, according to Ellen Covey, a Garden Grove Fire Department spokeswoman.
Ramirez’s daughter and a friend called 911 to report the fire.
Battalion Chief Joe Chandler said that if Ramirez had not pulled Masse--who is physically disabled and in poor health--from the apartment, he would probably have died in the fire.
A second resident of the apartment, Robert Graham, 24, sustained second degree burns to his face and was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange for treatment and observation.
Fire officials have not determined the cause of the fire, which gutted the apartment. There was $60,000 damage to the structure and $20,000 to the contents, authorities said. Three residents of an upstairs apartment were also evacuated.
Masse and Graham are being provided emergency housing and assistance by the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross.
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