Retired fire captain recalls harrowing fight as Eaton Fire raged through his neighborhood
Rick Snyder spent 36 years battling wildfires. When the Eaton Fire reached his Pasadena street, he joined his neighbors to protect their homes.
Last January, wildfires swept through communities across Southern California, and many of these areas are still rebuilding. Retired fire captain Rick Snyder shares his experience with the Eaton Fire.
When flames from the Eaton Fire swept into a Pasadena neighborhood in January, longtime firefighter Rick Snyder found himself on the other side of the hose.
After spending 36 years protecting other people’s homes, Snyder — a retired fire captain — was suddenly defending his own.
“When the fire started in my neighbor's yard, we immediately got on it with garden hoses, but it was too hot, too windy. We realized we weren’t going to be able to stop this thing," Snyder said in an interview with AccuWeather Early.
Snyder called the dispatch center, only to learn that firefighting resources were already stretched thin.
"They said all the resources were already deployed and going outside the region,” he said. “At that point, we realized there was nothing we could do.”
A wildfire near Eaton Canyon burns a hillside, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The wind-driven Eaton Fire tore through the area faster than residents could react. For Snyder, it was unlike anything he had seen in decades of service.
He watched as homes on his block caught fire — not addresses on a map, but the houses of friends.
“It was Dave and Allison’s house. It was Greg’s house. It was Julia and Brian’s house,” he said. “These are people that have lived on my block for dozens of years and people I care about."
Snyder’s home sustained damage, but he and his neighbors managed to save most of the block. When the flames passed, they got to work — clearing debris, gathering supplies and checking on one another.
That sense of community has lasted well beyond the fire. Snyder said his neighbors now keep in touch and have small gatherings, including what they jokingly call “trash talk" — a Sunday night ritual when they take out the bins and catch up before Monday pickup.
“My advice is to get to know your neighbors, and I mean really get to know your neighbors,” Snyder said. “When disasters like this happen, nobody should go through it alone.”
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