BRENT AINSWORTH
Main Independent Journal


An 80-year-old San Rafael man did everything he was supposed to do when fire engulfed his condominium building and deserves partial credit for saving his own life, a fire chief said Monday.

The crew from San Rafael fire's Engine 54 found the building at 3665 Kerner Blvd. with a first-floor condo fully engulfed in flames at 1:28 a.m. Friday. The first attempt to rescue the inhabitant in Unit D was repelled by smoke and flames, Chief Christopher Gray said, but an aggressive, coordinated effort between Engine 54 and Engine 52 resulted in the rescue.

Russell Bertuccelli was sent to Kaiser hospital in Terra Linda and treated in the intensive care unit for smoke inhalation and burns to his hand and face, Gray said. He was released Sunday and is being cared for by family, the chief said.

Bertuccelli was alerted to the fire by a smoke detector, retreated to a back bedroom and called 911 when he realized he was faced with a wall of fire, and there's no way he would be in position to celebrate his 81st birthday this Thursday he he hadn't taken those steps, Gray said.

"This incident could have gone far worse - most do in conditions like this," he said. "We don't save these people usually. We're all lucky he had a working smoke detector. So many people either don't have smoke detectors or have one with dead batteries."

Gray said Bertuccelli might have even placed something to block smoke coming from underneath a door.

"Faced with this, he did everything right," Gray said. "We are very fortunate that we had a successful rescue. There were some very important lessons learned. It was a textbook situation from our end."

Fire personnel searched the building for other occupants and worked to ventilate the building. Larkspur firefighters also responded, bringing the total to 19 personnel.

Damages were estimated at $75,000. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Read more San Rafael stories at the IJ's San Rafael section.

Contact Brent Ainsworth via e-mail at bainsworth@marinij.com

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June 14, 2010