L.A. Fire Victim, 66, Died with Garden Hose Still in Hand, Defending Home, Heartbroken Loved Ones Say
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01/09/2025 11:39 AM
Victor Shaw lived with his sister Shari in a house that had been in the family for nearly 55 years
Jon Putman/Anadolu via Getty
The family of Victor Shaw is speaking out, one day after the 66-year-old man's body was found outside of his family's home near the Eaton Fire.
Shaw had been fighting off flames that had engulfed his family's home of nearly 55 years on Tuesday, Jan. 7, according to KTLA-TV.
"When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn't reply back, and I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm – I had to save myself," Shaw's sister whom he lived with, Shari Shaw, told the news station. "I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave."
Related: L.A. Fires Live: Death Toll Grows to 5 as Blazes Continue to Burn Through the Region
Shari said she attempted to get her brother to evacuate, but Victor had health issues that limited his mobility.
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Family friend Al Tanner told the station that Shaw was found on Wednesday, Jan. 8, on the street near his home, holding onto a water hose.
"I fell to the ground, and I didn't know – I didn't want to look at him," Shari said. "They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace."
Other residents near the Eaton Fire have also had to take their own measures to fight the wildfire, which has claimed the lives of four other people.
Related: Celebrities Who Have Lost Homes or Had to Evacuate in the Los Angeles Fires, and What They've Said
Los Angeles Times videographer Robert Gauthier captured footage of two men using garden hoses to spray a home in Altadena that went up in flames.
Another man, Samuel Girma, was also filmed using a small hose to fight the enormous flames and prevent embers from spreading to the house next door.
At least four firefighters have been injured fighting the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a post on X on Wednesday.
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