Victor Shaw, 66, tragically died while trying to protect his family home during the Eaton Fire that swept through Altadena, California, on January 8, 2025. His younger sister, Shari Shaw, recalled the final moments they shared together before he passed away.
The fire started near a mountain and quickly spread to their neighborhood, threatening their home. Shari was inside their bungalow on Monterosa Drive, trying to get her brother to leave the house. “Victor, we have to get out!” she shouted, but Victor didn’t wake up immediately.
Shari then shook her brother and even kicked him in the foot to try to get him to move. “Victor, the fire is coming close. It’s not safe to stay,” she warned. After the kick, Victor woke up but seemed reluctant to leave. “OK, let me just sit here for a few minutes,” he said. Despite Shari urging him to evacuate, he refused to leave, saying he wanted to stay behind to protect their home.
While Shari hurriedly packed some of her belongings into her car, she called out to her brother one last time. But this time, there was no response. The fire was quickly approaching, and she had no choice but to leave.
As Shari fled the house, she turned around and saw the flames engulfing the home they had lived in for years. “The embers were so big, flying like a firestorm. I had to save myself,” she later told a reporter.
Victor’s body was later discovered by a family friend on the side of the road, still holding a garden hose. It appeared that he had been trying to save the house, which he had lived in since 1965.
Shari couldn’t imagine what her brother went through in his final moments. “I couldn’t be here, I couldn’t be here to save him. That’s what hurts the most,” she said through tears.
The cause of Victor’s death was determined to be from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The loss of her brother left Shari heartbroken, but she is grateful for the time they spent together in their home before the tragedy struck.
