Off-duty paramedic rescues neighbor's daughter as fire burns near LA home

An off-duty paramedic ran toward danger to rescue his neighbor's daughter as a fire burned feet away from her Los Angeles home.

Seven-year-old Savannah Vasquez was upstairs in her bedroom when she felt the heat emanating from the flames engulfing a tree outside her family's home in the Larchmont neighborhood.

"I went to tell my grandma," Savannah said. "She went to tell everyone to get out of the house."

The young girl said she didn't grab anything and ran out of the house without her shoes. 

"It felt hot. It hurt," she said. 

Her neighbor, off-duty paramedic Richard Recinos, saw the flames and heard that everyone had run out of the home. However, when he shifted his focus to the house, he realized Savannah was standing two feet away from the fire. 

"I had a leather jacket," he said. "I zipped it up, adrenaline kicked in and I ran in to go get her."

The little girl's mother, Martha Vasquez, said she's eternally grateful for Recinos' actions. 

"Saving my daughter is saving my heart," she said. 

Savannah spent the night in the emergency room because of some blisters on her feet, but is back to running around. 

"I've come across burn victism and thank God last night was not one of those nights," Recinos said. 

The three-bedroom home survived the fire, but the smoke and soot will take some time to clean up. 

"The guy saw me and came running," Savannah said. "That's what nice people do. Nice people help each other."