Firefighters Take Time To Remove Photos & Keepsakes From A Burning Los Angeles Home While Fighting The Flames
Not only are they putting their lives on the line, but they are going above and beyond to spare people's most precious memories.
Rapit Design | Shutterstock As wildfires sweep across Los Angeles, hundreds of thousands of people are being ordered to evacuate their homes with little or no time to gather their most precious belongings.
Yet, a heartwarming video of firefighters may give those who had to leave their livelihoods behind some reassurance and hope amid this incredibly difficult time.
A group of firefighters took the time to remove photos and keepsakes from a burning Los Angeles home while fighting the flames.
As they were responding to the countless distress calls as a result of the Palisades fires, Los Angeles firefighters were filmed carrying out personal belongings that evacuees were forced to leave behind. The items included over a dozen photo albums, a grandfather clock, and other keepsakes from a Lachman Lane home.
NBC Los Angeles News shared the short clip of firefighters emerging from the home engulfed in flames.
“Just trying to save some photos,” one firefighter said as he carefully placed the photo albums down on the ground.
Viewers were deeply moved by the firefighters’ determination to both control the flames and preserve as many personal belongings as they could.
“As a kid/family who’s lost everything in a house fire… thank you. Those keepsakes mean THE MOST,” one social media user commented.
“I'm a photographer and this makes me cry. When I ask people what's the first thing they'd grab if their house was in trouble, they always say photos,” another user shared.
"Firefighters are some of the most kind people ever," a third commenter wrote. "They did this for me and my home when it was burning as well."
The wildfires, which look straight from an apocalyptic movie, have ravaged the LA area, tearing through over 17,000 acres of land with zero containment.
Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses, and other structures have been destroyed and 130,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings.
Many of these people had little to no time to pack up their most valuable possessions and ultimately had no choice but to leave much of it behind in the path of the blaze.
Even if they were able to get to safety unharmed, they are suffering devastating losses of items that can never be replaced. What may seem like just a material item to some, could be attached to some of their most precious memories.
The old coffee table that sat in a living room, for example, may be where a set of first-time parents watched their baby pull themselves into a standing position for the first time. The grandfather clock good have belonged to someone's great-great-grandparent who is no longer here.
The firefighters who are fighting the blaze while attempting to save every personal belonging possible deserve a medal for their efforts. Not only are they focusing on their primary duties, but they are also treating people’s abandoned belongings with the utmost respect so residents can have something waiting for them when they return.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.