ALTADENA, Calif. () — A Pasadena firefighter who worked tirelessly on the front lines to contain the devastating Eaton Fire and save his community suffered a personal loss during that same fire.
Chien Yu, who works as a fire engineer, began battling the Eaton Fire right after he evacuated his home along with his wife and two children.
Yu worked tirelessly to save his community and unfortunately lost his own home in the fire.
“We worked all night, worked really hard. We tried,” said Yu as he held back tears, describing how hard he and his crew tried to save homes in Altadena from the wind fueled fire.
“We’d go to a street and try to put out a fire and then walk to the backyard and there would be three to four more homes on fire on the other side of the street.”
Among the houses that burned to the ground was his own.
“When we saw the fire, I just said ‘Guys it’s coming’ and I grabbed an empty box and started grabbing stuff,” said Yu’s wife, Kim.
She headed to safety along with their two sons while Chien went straight to work, only grabbing some socks and underwear.
“When you’re trying to go help fight fires and it’s actually your home. It’s unbelievable,” said Yu. “There’s no words, no words. It’s just crazy what everybody in the neighborhood, the family’s gone through.”
The Yu’s not only lost their home, but they also lost their son’s school. But they said they are counting their blessings and preparing for a brighter future.
“We have a fighting spirit in us and we have hope and faith that it will be okay and we will rebuild Altadena,” said Kim.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe was set up to help the Yu family recover.
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