When Gigi and Dave Frazer returned to their Pacific Palisades home following the January fire that destroyed 6,837 of their neighbors’ homes, they found a hand written note on the dining room table.
The note read: “Good news is we saved your house from burning to the ground. Bad news is we jacked up your guest room and flowed lots of water into the vents on the burnt side to make sure no hot embers lit off the space. You will have plenty water damage in there so have it looked at so it doesn’t mold. Glad you still have an amazing home.
Love,
The fire guys!! @ RBFD
P.S. We nicknamed your house the Alamo”
The Frazer’s home on Coastline Drive, near Topanga Beach was one of the few in their neighborhood still standing.
Redondo Beach Planning Commissioner Wayne Craig is friends with the Frazers. He texted The Frazers on Wednesday, January 8, the second day of the Palisades fire, to ask if they were okay. Dave Frazer phoned Craig back to say they had been evacuated, and did not know if their home burned down
On Monday, January 13, the Frazers learned their home had been yellow tagged, which meant it had been damaged, but was still standing.
On Thursday, January 23, the couple was finally allowed to return to their home. The couple sent photos of the damage to Craig They also sent a photo of the note they had found on the kitchen table.
Craig is close to the Redondo firefighters. Last March, at a Redondo City Council meeting, he was among a small group that proposed a revenue bond to build a new fire station. In November voters approved a $93 million bond to build two new fire stations and a new police station.
Craig called Redondo Firefighter Captain Kenny Campos, and told Campos about his friends’ note.
Campos confirmed he and fellow Station 2 firefighters Morgan Peterson, Andrei Alexandrescu, and James Diaz had saved the Frazers’ house. Peterson wrote the note found on the kitchen table while they waited to be sure the fire was fully extinguished.
Last month, on Thursday April 24, the Frazers hosted a taco dinner at Station 2 to show their appreciation.
“When I saw [the note] I couldn’t believe somebody would take their time to be so personal,” Gigi Frazer told the firefighters at the dinner, “It was like it came from a friend.”
Campos told the Frazers the chief in charge of their unit (who was not from Redondo) told them to let their house burn because he didn’t think the house could be saved. But Peterson convinced the chief to let them try. He argued that the fire hadn’t reached the attic and that only a few areas on the exterior had been damaged.
“We can do it, we can do it! We’re going to save this house,” Campos recalls Peterson yelling.
The Palisades was low on water and water pressure, but Campos found enough water, with enough pressure, to extinguish the flames.
They nicknamed the house “The Alamo”, Campos said, because they thought of it as their last stand.
“I wanted the home owners to know there would be a lot of water damage,” Peterson explained.
He said he originally signed the letter “the fire guys.” He didn’t want to take personal credit. He added “@ RBFD” because he thought the Frazers might want to learn how their house had been saved.
Dave Frazer shook the hands of each of the firefighters. Gigi Frazer gave them each a hug, and invited them to come back to their house,
”You guys, you’re always welcome to come on over for a stiff drink,” she said. ER
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