Brothers rescue group of elderly people from burning California assisted living facility

(KTLA) -- Two young brothers worked quickly to rescue a group of elderly people after a fire broke out at an assisted living facility in Glendale, California Friday.

Glendale firefighters responded to the burning home on the 1800 block of Mountain Street around 4:45 p.m.

As the flames grew and heavy smoke billowed from the home, neighbors Alex Bazinyan, 20, and his brother Narek Bazinyan, 15, realized time was of the essence and decided to run over and help.

"I ran outside and I was looking at the front door when I saw the nurse outside and she was screaming for help,” Alex told Nexstar's KTLA’s John Fenoglio.

The brothers knew several people were trapped inside the home that was operating as an assisted living facility for seniors.

Narek initially grabbed a garden hose to help quell the flames, but as the blaze grew more intense and screams for help grew louder, they knew they had to run into the fire.

"I go inside this big room and I see all these old people on the floor with catheters,” Alex recalled. “Some people were injured, had blood on their legs. We just took everybody out one by one.”

There were eight people inside the home — two nurses and six elderly residents, most of whom were unable to walk. The brothers said the nurses were desperately trying to remove the elderly residents from the home but were struggling.

"I see a guy in the back about to be engulfed by the flames,” Narek recalled when he entered the home. “The nurse is trying to pick him up. I go and grab his legs and pull him out to the front.”

Soon after, two additional neighbors also ran over to help evacuate the residents.

“As I’m looking around, I just see flames going up and coming towards me,” Narek said. “I tried bringing everyone out as fast as I could. There was smoke everywhere. I was pretty much blinded by the smoke.”

The brothers were able to safely rescue all six elderly residents and placed them on the front lawn as they awaited fire crews.

But just as they moved the last person out of the burning home, Alex recalled hearing a loud explosion.

"I heard an explosion come from the house,” he said. “I looked back and I didn’t understand what exploded, but I just heard a big boom.”

Firefighters arrived at the home and were able to extinguish the flames before any nearby houses were affected. The Glendale Fire Department chief said an oxygen tank likely exploded, which collapsed part of the home.

Seven people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

As for Alex and Narek, they said their instincts just kicked in and the only thing they were focused on was quickly rescuing everyone from the burning home.

"It’s that instinct of whenever you see people in need, you want to help them out,” Alex said. “You don’t really think about who it is. We have a really tight-knit community here.”

Narek agreed, saying, “If you ever see anyone in need, you should always try to help them out as much as you can.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.