Man Rescues Neighbor From Early Morning Blaze
Published: April 2, 2007
When Oakland resident Larry Wytch went to bed last night, he had no idea he would wake up hours later and become a hero. But that’s what happened when his neighbor’s home burst into flames early Thursday.
The one-alarm fire erupted in the kitchen of a home near 84th and Olive at about 3 a.m. Thursday. The resident — John Cunningham — had recently suffered a stroke and has trouble with his vision.
“I was asleep and I heard my neighbor hollering ‘Call 911!,’” Wytch said. “I heard banging on the wall so I got up and looked out the window and saw smoke. I went and grabbed my respirator (Wytch worked in construction), threw on some clothes and grabbed my garden hose.”
When Wytch got outside he saw his neighbor trying to battle the flames so he grabbed his garden hose.
“The flames were pretty big,” Wytch told KTVU. “The water seemed to help until the firemen arrived.”
Cunningham was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries suffered in the blaze. His dog was also rescued from the fire and recovering well.
Kerri Cunningham, John’s wife, was not at home at the time of the blaze. When she arrived early Thursday, she was shocked by what she saw.
“I’m so hurt right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she told KTVU. “I’m just glad everyone is fine.”
Turning to Wytch, she didn’t mince word — “I’m so thankful to you.”
But Wytch brushed aside all the hero talk.
“I wouldn’t call myself a hero,” he said. “I’d just call myself a good neighbor.”
The cause of the 1-alarm blaze remained under investigation.
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