Altadena man dies of cancer after surviving Eaton Fire
Armed with just a hose, Tony Herrera spent 20 hours on a roof trying his best to protect his neighborhood from the Eaton Fire last year.
His partner Monica Williams said she watched in fear as homes around them started to burn.
"It was crazy," she said. "The fire was so close to the house."
Herrera and his nephew held their ground against the flames throughout the night, fighting to stop the flames from burning not only their home but their neighbors' houses.
"I truly believe if they were not up there watering down, we would've lost our house as well as the neighbors," Williams said. "He was definitely a hero that night for a lot of people."
In the days after the fire, Herrera didn't stop helping. Williams said he watched for looters, brought food and water to the elderly and documented the devastation around him.
"This is just a couple houses down from where I'm at," Herrera said in a video from last year. "It's really sad, you know. But, let me tell you something, people here in Altadena are coming together like crazy."
But after his heroic actions, Herrera learned that cancer had spread to his lungs.
"It returned," Williams said. "I'm thinking it returned but with a vengeance because of everything he breathed in."
Hererra died less than a year after the Eaton Fire.
"It's very devastating," Williams said. "After surviving the fire, the cancer just took him so fast."
Williams said the fire changed their neighborhood forever but Herrera's courage never left.
"I will continue to move forward, represent the person he was," Williams. "Honorable, generous, kind person."