TRES PINOS, Calif.- Flames rip through a Central Coast home, killing one man and leaving the family homeless on Christmas Eve.
In San Benito County fire crews said the man died in his sleep in that fire, while two others made it out safely in Tres Pinos at about 5:00am Monday morning. Tables, chairs and other furniture were charred to a crisp. But we found out, if it weren't for a neighbor who jumped into help, it could have been much worse.
Neighbor Jesse Diaz said he smelled the smoke and while his sister called 9-1-1 for help, Diaz' brother-in-law he jumped into action.
"Went in there, grabbed her out and then she told him, "my boyfriend's in there" and he ran back in," Diaz said.
Diaz and other friends said 47-year-old Andrea Summers and another tenant made it out. But CalFire said Summers is in critical conditional at the hospital and 60-year-old Michael Jansky died in the fire from inhaling too much smoke, after trying to give him CPR.
CalFire said there was so much smoke in the bedroom, they had to smash the window, and brake the glass as they tried to pull the male victim out. Most of the house is charred from the floor to the ceiling. CalFire said there weren't any smoke detectors.
"It's impossible to overstate the importance of having properly functioning smoke detectors with batteries and that it continues to work and that they're tested," said CalFire information officer Jonathan Pangburn.
For Diaz and his family, it was a terrifying morning as Christmas Eve was turned upside down. His brother-in-law's kids had to see their dad run straight into the fire.
"Their dad was in there, and they were telling him, "dad get out of the house" and luckily he did in time," Diaz said.
CalFire said it's still trying to figure out how this fire happened, but they think it started in the kitchen
