The man recalled a horrifying moment before Eton Fire destroyed her senior residential complex.
Dorothy Benesh, 96, lived on the terrace of Park Marino, Altadena when the fatal fire ignited on January 7th.
Her son, Jim Benesch, lives nearby and says his worried mother called him after the fire alarm left at the facility. She is left alone in her room and is told that someone will come back to get her back.
“She said, ‘Well, I’m supposed to stay here and they’re going back and take me with me,” Jim recalled.
But Jim said over time it was clear that no one had returned for his mother.
His call to the main telephone line of the building was not answered. As the wildfires continued to grow, Jim became increasingly worried and knew he had to intervene.
Dorothy Benesch, 96, lived on the terrace of the Park Marino facility when her son said he had to save her during the Eton fire. (Benesh family) Dorothy Benesh, 96, lived on the terrace of the Park Marino facility when his son said he had to save her during the Eton fire. (Benes Family) The terrace at the Park Marino Support Facility in Altadena was destroyed by Etonfire on January 7, 2025. , 2025. (KTLA) On January 7, 2025, the Eton fire destroyed the terrace at the Park Marino Support Facility in Altadena. (KTLA) Senior residents evacuated from the terrace at the Park Marino facility in Altadena when the Eton fire ignited on January 7, 2025. It caught fire on January 7th, 2025. (RMG) The fire broke out on January 7, 2025, when senior residents evacuated from the terrace at the Park Marino facility in Altadena during Eton. (RMG) The terrace at the Park Marino Support Facility in Altadena was destroyed by Eton Fire on January 7, 2025. (KTLA)
“I was just urged to get there and I did,” he said.
He quickly got into the car and began a dangerous drive, piloting it through his eyesight and heavy smoke that had been blocking many obstacles and fallen debris on the street before he reached the facility.
He headed to his mother’s room, and the only light source was emitted from the bright flame outside. Competing against the clock, Jim scrambles into his mother’s room and finds the door to her apartment closed. When he opened the door, he found her inside and was relieved.
“She was sitting on the couch on the fire outside,” Jim recalls. “I said, ‘Mama, we have to get out of here!”
They proceeded downstairs and safely terminated their burning property. The building was eventually destroyed by fire.
Jim said when asked the facility workers why his mother was left behind, he was told, “They thought she was evacuated with everyone else.”
He said it was nearly three hours when staff would contact him to see if his mother was with him. The gym believes stronger safety measures and protocols should be in place in emergencies in nursing homes and advanced living facilities.
“It was a mess, I can understand that, but there should have been a way for them to see if everyone was evacuated,” he said.
Several investigations are underway following the incident. The California Department of Social Services is investigating the terrace of the Park Marino incident, where two women were left behind at a nearby Monte Cedro senior facility and reportedly rescued by sheriff’s deputies. .
Adam Khalifa, president and chief executive of Park Marino Terrace, has not rebutted what happened to Dorothy Benes, but said his staff followed the facility’s disaster plan, the LA Times He spoke to.
He also reported that staff members were allegedly hoping for a final sweep of the facility, but was denied access by firefighters who claimed the building had been successfully cleared.
Jim reassured that his mother was rescued in time, but said there are many questions about how it was left during the deadly wildfire.
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