When we got there, the building was well-involved in flame, so we went to defensive mode to protect neighboring buildings.

We even have an armed guard with our folks, as do other teams there. It's just turned into a kind of madness.

They rescued about 240 people within a four-hour period of time within 5 square miles before they had to suspend operations at nightfall. There were about 500 people who still needed to be rescued.

The house was pretty much (fully) involved in fire when we got there.

It looked like a mini war zone. I saw people on the ground, some moaning, many bleeding. They had all sorts of injuries. Others were walking around dazed.

She tried to get out but the more she tried to get out, the deeper she sank.

What they do is they locate the heat source right away so there's no delay in finding the source of the fire. With books, shelves and other devices in the way, they just followed the thermal image for the heat source and knew exactly where to go.

The house is totaled inside, basically totaled. The fire began in a rear bedroom area but it spread very quickly to the rest of the house.

Having an engine dedicated to the valley is a step in the right direction so other units may remain in their respective areas for proper coverage.