08/31/2026
Bakersfield, Calif. - Two elderly women and several dogs were rescued by a good Samaritan from a neighboring home threatened by a fire Sunday afternoon in Bakersfield.
Just before 12:30 p.m., the Bakersfield Fire Department responded to the 700 block of Olive Street for reports of a structure fire.
When crews arrived, a home was engulfed in smoke as flames shot from what neighbors believed was a propane tank. The flames spread to the house and began threatening a neighboring home, where smoke was seen coming from the roof.
Before firefighters arrived, nearby neighbor Leonard Marella said he saw the smoke and flames and raced to the scene on his motorcycle.
As the fire threatened the neighboring home, Marella said he initially tried to fight the flames with a water hose. When that was unsuccessful, he went to evacuate the home, which was occupied by two elderly women and several dogs.
He shouted through a dog door and heard the women screaming inside, said Marella. After unsuccessfully trying to break a window, he entered the home through the dog door and helped get both women and the dogs outside safely.
Bakersfield firefighters extinguished the fire. The cause remains under investigation.
Information gathered at the scene indicated the garage may have been unstable and that cats may have been inside the home.
It was not immediately known whether anyone was injured.
