Calabasas teen saves elderly man from fire

Heroic action in the face of danger



AFTERMATH—Ron Lallone shows Justin Greenwald the damage to his Calabasas home. Justin, 17, shown at left, helped pull Lallone to safety during a Nov. 20 fire. Now the elderly man has no place to live.

AFTERMATH—Ron Lallone shows Justin Greenwald the damage to his Calabasas home. Justin, 17, shown at left, helped pull Lallone to safety during a Nov. 20 fire. Now the elderly man has no place to live.

The smell of ash still lingers, even though the fire that destroyed 82-year-old Ron Lallone’s Calabasas home occurred two months ago, a few days after Thanksgiving.

Though he lost his home, he’s kept his sense of humor.

He placed a sign in front of his scorched property that asks, “So how did your deep-fried turkey turn out?”

“People have to laugh,” Lallone said. “You have to have a little chuckle.”

Neighbors are raising funds to help Lallone rebuild his home at Calabasas Village Mobile Estates off Mulholland Highway.

The residence was a community hub where people gathered almost daily to joke, share stories and connect with neighbors.

A former pilot and member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Lallone doesn’t bemoan the fact that he let his home insurance lapse. Instead, he’s counting his blessings and knows he is lucky to be alive. He was pulled out of the burning home on Nov. 29 by his neighbor, 17-year-old Justin Greenwald.

Justin, a senior at Calabasas High School, had moved into the community with his family a year ago, and he and Lallone, who lived two doors down, became friends.

Justin said he was getting ready for bed that night when he heard a crash and saw a flash of red and orange through the window.

“I went outside, and something exploded,” Justin said. “I felt the heat rush on my face. I yelled to my dad and sprinted toward (Lallone’s) house.”

Justin was barefoot and still holding his toothbrush.

He said flames prevented him from entering the front of the home. Instead, he was able to shove open a side door. Neighbors had called the fire department.

“I didn’t realize what had happened, ” Lallone said. “I heard glass breaking and heard Justin calling my name.”

Justin said his adrenaline took over and propelled him into action without thinking about danger.

“I’m happy that I was able to think fast enough,” he said.

Lallone, who was sleeping when Justin found him and took him outside, said the fire was caused by an old propane tank with a leaky valve that fed the embers of an outdoor fire pit where he and other neighbors had gathered just a few hours earlier.

“It was like taking a spray bottle of gasoline and spraying it into the fire,” the elderly man said.

Loss

Lallone is stung by the loss of his irreplaceable personal items. All the playbills that he’d saved from his daughter’s ballet performances were destroyed in the blaze. Ariana Lallone was the principal dancer for the Pacific Northwest Ballet for 25 years. Family photographs, some dating back to his grandfather’s time, were also turned to ashes. And Lallone, who is an aviation enthusiast, lost a collection of books by famous aviators.

But one photo was saved: his high school graduation picture, a little charred but recognizable.

Justin said he understood the extent of the ordeal when he met Lallone’s son, Chris, a fire captain with Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“This big man just broke down and cried and thanked me,” Justin said.

Hero

Justin has been hailed as a hero by family and friends—and the Las Virgenes Unified School District.

At a Jan. 26 Las Virgenes Unified School District board meeting, Justin was presented with a proclamation by board president Lesli Stein in recognition of his “courage, quick thinking, and exemplary bravery.”

“You don’t know the true character of a person until they’re put to the test,” Stein said. “And clearly you were tested when you selflessly risked your life in the moment to save someone else’s life. That’s the true definition of a hero.”

Superintendent Dan Stepenosky called Justin a “real, red-blooded American hero for risking life and limb” to save Lallone. “We couldn’t be more proud.”

Justin’s dad, Michael Greenwald, said he and his wife, Mira, didn’t know how their son would act in an emergency, until now.

“Justin certainly showed us how he would react under fire, so to speak. We are very proud of him,” the father said.

Hope

Meanwhile, Lallone is living in a spare room at a neighbor’s home across the street.

Within one day of the fire, five boxes of clothes had been collected by neighbors and delivered to him. The fire department provided Lallone with a package of items for everyday living. “It’s typical of the way people come together,” Lallone said.

Two fundraising sites have been established to help raise money for Lallone.

Justin and his parents started www.gofundme.com/tecpknvm, and Lallone’s friend, Brooks Utley, launched a second site, www.gofundme.com/ronlallone. Together, the sites have raised about $16,000.


Photos by STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers

Photos by STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers

FRIENDS—Justin and other community members are supporting Lallone in his time of need.

FRIENDS—Justin and other community members are supporting Lallone in his time of need.

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