The Daily News of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — Flames leaped from the burning duplex Tuesday as Los Angeles fire Capt. Jeff Dapper led four firefighters through a back door.
On the second floor was 14-year-old Eitan Djiji, whose parents and younger sister had just managed to flee the early morning blaze at their Sherman Oaks home. Crawling through thick smoke, however, the firefighters couldn’t find the stairs.
“It was black, black ... it was pure black,” recalled Paul Schori, an EMT-firefighter from Station 88, his yellow helmet scorched, its facia a melted blob. “We bumped into the staircase, a metal spiral staircase.
“We marched up multiple times, pushed back by the heat. We finally got through and found the male victim on the bed, and were able to enact a rescue.”
Eitan, hoisted unconscious from the burning home, was fighting for his life Tuesday after the fire that injured three family members and two of the firefighters who arrived to save them.
The aspiring actor and stand-up comic was put on life support at Sherman Oaks Hospital, then transferred to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in grave condition, authorities said.
Before noon Tuesday, Los Angeles police put out an erroneous report — which they later retracted — that Eitan had died.
“He is a wonderful boy,” said Tali Klein, 40, whose family was forced to evacuate the front unit of the duplex because of fire damage. “I think of him as a second child. He’s like a big brother to my kid.
“I’m praying for him every second.”
Eitan’s father, Gigi Djiji, 58, a local building contractor, was initially treated for burns at Sherman Oaks Hospital, just a block from his home. His mother Pauline, 50, a native of New Zealand, declined treatment at the scene, officials said.
His 12-year-old sister suffered burns and respiratory problems and was transported from Sherman Oaks Hospital to Providence Tarzana Medical Center, officials said.
Two firefighters were treated for severe burns to their hands after they grabbed a smoldering iron rail.
Firefighters estimated the loss at $440,000, including $350,000 to the structure and $90,000 to its contents.
Explosions, then flames
It was 6:29 a.m. when neighbors heard explosions, then saw flames swirling from the rear of the 86-year-old white stucco and dark blue home at 4822 Tilden Ave., in a historic neighborhood just north of the Los Angeles River.
And it took just 37 minutes for 75 firefighters from 12 fire stations across the San Fernando Valley to extinguish it, officials said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. A preliminary report from Southern California Gas found natural gas was not to blame.
Twice, firefighters said, they tried to mount the staircase, and twice they were repelled by the heat. On the third try, they’d managed to run the searing gantlet of flame.
“It’s a complete burn-out inside,” Dapper said as he stood in front of the duplex with the blackened second story at the rear. "(But) this is just another day at the office. This is what we signed up for.”
“It was worth it,” added Brian Simon, an EMT-firefighter said of the stairway rescue. “We’re hoping that the victim makes it through.”
For the Djiji family and their neighbors, it was a half hour of burning hell.
Guzzel Khammatovo was sound asleep when she experienced what she thought was an action dream.
Only the bombs she heard in her slumbers were explosions from next door, she said.
“I woke up. I smelled the smell. I grabbed my baby and we left,” said Khammatovo, 22. “Oh, my God! I am in shock.”
Lisa Sundstedt, who lives across the street, woke up to the sound of screams.
“I heard someone screaming, ‘Break the window, break the window!,”’ said Sundstedt, 43. “My neighbor heard a little girl screaming. She got out and was covered in black.
“The little girl started yelling, ‘My brother, my brother!”’
Dale Stelly had just driven home at his house around the corner when he saw red.
“I could see flames and smoke, at about 300 feet into the sky,” said Stelly, 35, a movie industry producer and director. “I ran over to help. I saw the daughter outside, crying.
“Then I saw the firemen rush in (and) pull someone else out. They really did an incredible job.”
Hours after the fire, Eitan’s older brother spoke to firefighters about retrieving some belongings, then became teary-eyed at the scene.
He would only say his brother was going to Los Angeles-USC, but declined to comment further.
Eitan was slated to enter school this fall as a freshman at the the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts in downtown Los Angeles, school district officials said.
‘We’re in shock’
An aspiring actor, he is credited on various websites with playing Teddy on “My Homework Ate My Dog,” a 2009 comedy about a kid who never does his homework.
On his wikispaces.com page, Eitan said he used to live in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is now an actor living in America who had shot a short film “which will not be in N.Z. ever.”
“Oh, my God,” said Sundstedt. “We’re in shock. I just feel horrible for the family. I can’t imagine what it would be like for the parents — how fast your life changes in a couple of hours.”
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