ALTADENA, Calif. () — Three men are bringing hope to the Saint Mark’s community in Altadena after their school and church were destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
Thanks to their heroic efforts, one building is still standing.
“Once we realized our homes were safe, it was like, ‘What can we do to help everybody else around?'” said Justin Brinsfield.
Brinsfield and Anthony Turgman have children who attend Saint Mark’s school. Nine campus buildings, along with the church itself, are now gone.
As the flames ripped through Altadena, the fathers made it their mission to save the newly-renovated preschool.
“I said, ‘Hey, there is a little bit of hope here that we can maybe save this building,'” said Turgman. “There were fires all around the school.”
After using what little water was in hoses on the property, the men stomped out hot spots with their feet and helped smother the flames.
Matthew Weiss, a photojournalist who had been in the area documenting the devastation, said he dropped everything to help.
“That’s when we started digging out my childhood sandbox to put out the embers and protect the one remaining building,” said Weiss.
The Saint Marks school building was set to reopen in February, but with the help of Brinsfield, Turgman and Weiss, there’s a little bit of hope.
“It’s not the buildings that make us, it’s the community and the people that make us, and at least we have one building to start from,” said Brinsfield.
The Saint Mark’s school shared 7’s story on their Instagram, saying the men’s “courage and determination in the face of the flames are a testament to the power of community and love.”
“Thank you for giving it everything you had,” the post read.
If you’d like to help the Saint Mark’s community, you can donate to their Emergency Rebuild Our Saint Mark’s Community Fund here.
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