Man Burns Feet While Pulling Son from Calif. Fire

Dec. 06--A man burned his feet running into his fiery apartment to save his son in a two-arm fire on Warren Avenue in Vallejo Friday morning.

The fire, called in about 9:50 a.m., caused major damage to the top floor of a two-story structure at Warren Avenue and Taylor Street in unincorporated Vallejo, officials said.

The man was taken to a local hospital with burns on both feet. Witnesses said he received the burns after running back inside the burning structure to get his 3-year-old boy.

The cause of the fire was not yet known, but investigators would on scene to try to determine it, Vallejo Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Urrutia said.

The fire was contained mostly to the second floor, and a second alarm was not needed, Urrutia said.

Firefighters did a quick search of the building and found no one left inside, Urrutia said.

Glen Cove resident Lisa Sarna said she was driving home when she saw smoke, and drove up to investigate. She said she found the unidentified man hobbling around the pavement in his bare feet, and stayed with him and his boy until paramedics arrived.

"He said 'My feet are burned. I had to go in and save my son,'" she recalled.

She also recalled him worrying that the fire was unfortunate because it was so close to Christmas.

As she spoke to the man, Sarna said the structure behind them "boomed" and went up in flames.

Large flames could be seen shooting out of the windows and thick smoke curled off the roof and into the sky.

The man and his son were taken by ambulance to a local hospital, though a paramedic said the boy was not hurt.

Copyright 2013 - Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.