Rancho Adobe Firefighters Rescue Story from the October Firestorm

Engine 9161 was dispatched to a vegetation fire in the area of Shiloh Road and Highway 101 on Sunday, October 8, 2017. When the firestorm erupted, they were dispatched to the Fountaingrove area and assisted with the evacuations of Thomas Lake Harris Drive. E9161 decided to go towards the fire’s edge around Skyfarm Drive, where they knew the residents were out of time to evacuate. At this point E9161 met with the Task Force Leader and were told that there was a confirmed rescue at 3812 Skyfarm Drive. The victim was still on the phone with the dispatcher. E9161 was driving in conditions, where at times, there was zero visibility and the sidewalk was used as an indicator for where the road was. When the crew finally reached 3812 Skyfarm, the house was fully involved with fire and the crew realized that that no one could have survived the conditions. Engineer Campbell was told to turn around as conditions were quickly deteriorating. He drove past four to five houses and found a place to do a three-point turn. When he completed the turn, the crews were flagged down by flashing a light to our faces. It was the victim, Janice Laskoski, and she was between two burning houses in what appeared to be a long driveway coming down towards us.

Earlier that evening, Janice woke up to the sounds of the wind and objects crashing around her house. When she realized the fire was all around her, she went to her garage but was not able to escape due to the power being down, and was unable to disengage the door. With fire and heat all around her, Janice managed to grab a flashlight from the home and made it outside. Her neighbor called from Paris, to check on her and Janice told her that "she was not ok, and that she was probably going to die". Janice began making phone calls and a friend attempted to reach her on her own, but was not able to make access to her street due to the extreme fire conditions. At that point Janice lost her cellphone. She said that the only structure that was not engulfed in fire was her neighbor’s house, so she walked there and opened a water hose to cool and wet the area around her. As the conditions continued to further deteriorate, Janice made the decision to lay down on the ground and accept her fate. Moments later, she got a glimpse of the fire engines emergency lights. It was so smoky that it was hard to make out what she was seeing. She walked toward the engine where Engineer Campbell decided to turn around, and there was a gap of clear visibility. There she decided to flash her light at the driver and was rescued.

Janice was wearing a bathrobe at the time of her rescue and sustained minor burn injuries. The engine crew managed to get her to Santa Rosa Kaiser hospital, which was later evacuated due to the fire. Aggressive action from E9161 crews, great thinking from Janice and lots of good luck made this a successful outcome.

During the days the fires continued to rage, the crew often thought of Janice and wondered how she was doing. The crew of engine 9161 continued working three straight days, with no rest, in incredibly difficult conditions. Yesterday, Janice stopped by the Cotati station where the same crew who rescued her was working. This is the picture that shows the great reunion… (yes, she got in that tall engine with some assistance from the crew!).

Engine 9161’s crew

Captain Jimmy Bernal, Engineer Scott Campbell, Firefighter Jake McClendon