Bodycam footage shows moments deputies save 100-year-old woman from inside Altadena elderly living center

Newly released body camera footage shows the moments that two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies rescue a 100-year-old woman trapped inside of her elderly living center in Altadena as the Eaton Fire raged nearby. 

It happened on Jan. 8, just hours after the blaze first erupted in Eaton Canyon and spread rapidly through the area before reaching the city of Altadena. 

The elderly living center where the woman resided was one of thousands of places that was put under an urgent evacuation order as the situation continued to develop, which led LASD to dispatch deputies to the area in search of people who needed help leaving. 

"Deputies Nicholas Martinez and Quinn Alkonis, assigned to the Carson Station, were part of the extensive deployment responding to the wildfire emergency," said a statement from the department on Tuesday. "Tasked with evacuating any remaining residents and with flames advancing rapidly, they recognized that every second mattered."

The footage shows the pair racing down the hallways of the elderly living center, shouting out for anyone who may still be inside, using flashlights to guide their way as the power was out. 

"As the two deputies worked together, they heard a faint voice echoing from a distant hallway," the statement said. "Without hesitation, they rushed to investigate and discovered a 100-year-old woman, disoriented and struggling to find her way out."

In the video, she can be heard explaining that she was having problems finding an exit, and that she couldn't hear anything as she was deaf and her hearing aids were charging when the chaos erupted. 

"Don't lose me," the woman can be heard telling the deputies as they began to usher her from the building. 

"I promise you I won't," Deputy Martinez responds. 

They were able to safely escort the woman, as well as another resident who was also unaware of the wildfire as they returned from walking their dog. That woman alerted them that there may be someone else inside the building, which led to their frantic search. 

"In the face of adversity, these deputies took immediate action," stated Sheriff Robert Luna. "Their swift response under extreme pressure is a true reflection of their commitment. I commend them and all deputies who responded to the wildfires for their unwavering dedication and service to the community, working tirelessly to save lives amid such danger. Their courage and selflessness exemplify the highest standards of law enforcement, and they deserve our deepest respect and gratitude." 

KCAL News spoke with the two young deputies about the incident on Wednesday, hours after their bodycam footage went viral. 

"So we were having to do detours to try and get around these streets that had multiple houses on fire, vehicles on fire," said Deputy Alkonis. 

"It was windy, the amount of smoke that was coming through I could see, I would say 5 to 10 feet in front of my vehicle," Deputy Martinez recalled. 

When they finally found the woman, whom they have not identified, they said she seemed out of sorts. 

"I remember talking to her and she was very disheveled," Alkonis recalled. "Her nose was running and she's like breathing heavily and she was very scared. Didn't know what was going on."

She wasn't alone in her confusion, all happening in the midst of chaos, which had the deputies searching the MonteCedro Retirement Community campus. 

"It was like a five-story facility," Martinez said. "With two additional wings that are unattached."

While sweeping the area, they also found an unattended dog and cat, but no other humans, the deputies said.

"We swore an oath to protect life and property, and I'm just glad we could be there for that lady," tktktktkt

As of Wednesday, Jan. 29, the facility remains closed, only open for maintenance workers. 

Upon request for comment, MonteCedro officials shared a statement as to how the woman was left behind when evacuation orders were issued. 

"As late as 3 a.m., the winds in the area were calm, and no warnings or evacuation orders had been issued for areas west of Lake Avenue in Altadena," the statement read. "Even after the winds shifted and picked up, no evacuation order was issued for the zone around MonteCedro, a senior living community operated by Episcopal Communities & Services."

Conditions had worsened within an hour, officials noted, which led Los Angeles County Fire Department crews to inform the facility that they needed to evacuate the 195 residents who had not already left on their own. 

"These included residents in memory care and the independent living residences where residents manage their own affairs. By the time an order to leave was issued for the neighborhood at 5:50 a.m., the MonteCedro evacuation was well underway," the statement said. 

They reported that eight city transit buses were used to take residents to the Pasadena Convention Center, all of which arrived shortly after 7 a.m. 

"Fire personnel and MonteCedro team members made two complete tours through the building, which included triggering the fire alarm and inspecting every residence," the statement further said. "However, two independent living residents were not encountered and did not make it to the buses."

One of those was the woman that Deputies Martinez and Alkonis found. The statement says that upon completing a headcount of the evacuated residents, they discovered two people were missing. 

"ECS CEO James Rothrock and another team member immediately returned to MonteCredro, where they were told two people had been found and transferred," the statement said. "The two residents were settled in other senior living communities that evening and are doing well. It is unclear why they were not encountered in the first or second sweeps of the building."

Rothrock also shared a statement, which said that despite the success in moving nearly 200 people away from their homes at a moment's notice, they have some clear gaps in their planning and execution that they are working to correct. 

"Like hundreds of agencies and institutions in the Los Angeles area, we were faced with an unprecedented challenge, and our response to it merits a deep, unvarnished review," he said.