- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
CHP officer recounts Hardester’s Market fire, effort to help injured firefighter
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – While the investigation into the fire that destroyed the Middletown Hardester’s Market continues, the two men injured in the fire are on the mend.
California Highway Patrol Officer Efrain Cortez Jr. is recovering from minor injuries he received on Monday when he helped pull Justin Costa, an injured Cal Fire and South Lake County FIre Protection District paid call firefighter, from harm’s way.
Cal Fire reported on Tuesday evening that Costa was in fair condition at UC Davis Medical Center’s burn center after having suffered second- and third-degree burns in the fire, which occurred on Monday afternoon at Hardester’s Market and Hardware, located at 21088 Calistoga St. in Middletown.
Cortez also is on the mend.
“I’m doing good,” Cortez told Lake County News during a Tuesday interview.
While he had by that time been cleared for duty, he said his sergeant gave him the day off, which he was spending with his children. Due to his schedule, he’s set to return to patrol on Sunday.
Cortez, 39, will mark 14 years in the CHP in October. He’s also a Lake County native, a 1997 graduate of Kelseyville High School who has spent 12 of his years as an officer working in Lake County. He lives in Kelseyville with his wife and two daughters.
He’s also a Navy veteran, having served seven years and, during that time, he said he learned to fight fires.
His CHP service has included working during the county’s wildland fires, including the Valley fire, in which he was one of the officers assisting with the evacuation of residents in the fire area.
Cortez patrols the south sector – extending from Lower Lake to the Napa County line – for the CHP’s Clear Lake Area office, based in Kelseyville.
That’s where he was on Memorial Day.
“It was a quiet day,” he recalled.
He stopped in to Hardester’s Market to order a sandwich at the deli for his lunch.
“When I was ordering my sandwich, I hear the alarm,” he said.
Everyone was looking at each other, and the employees were wondering if it was a drill, he said.
Middletown resident Monica Rosenthal, who had just come into the store to do some shopping, said she spotted Cortez in the market, and thought the timing for his arrival was fortuitous considering the fire that followed.
When the alarm went off, no smoke was visible. “Slowly, people started getting out,” said Cortez, who had time to pay for his sandwich and leave the building.
When he got to the parking lot, people were starting to move faster. Then Cortez said he saw smoke coming from the northeast corner of the building.
At that point, Cortez said he got in his patrol car and blocked off Washington Street at the back of the store. He said he also got people who were taking pictures to back off from the site and called the fire department.
Cortez said he saw the first engine, from Cal Fire, arrive. Two firefighters geared up, laid down hose and charged into the building, where more smoke and flames could be seen. One of those firefighters was Costa.
Flames then shot out of the building like a torch and one of the firefighters emerged, screaming, and saying his partner was still inside. Cortez he put out the call for a firefighter down, requested all units respond and asked for air support in the form an air ambulance.
He said he started getting closer to see if he could help, explaining that it was very hot.
Cortez said the second firefighter, Costa, emerged, either throwing himself out or being thrown out and landing on his back.
He said he could see that Costa had been on fire because his uniform was black. Costa was screaming that he needed to take off his gear.
Cortez said what happened next was a blur.
He and another man – who he said he believed was a volunteer firefighter – grabbed Costa to drag him away from the building. Cortez grabbed Costa by the neck of his turnouts while the other firefighter took hold of him by his armpit to move him.
It was at that point that Cortez was injured; he said he had taken hold either of a buckle or ring on the turnout that was hot and burned his right hand. He also started choking from the smoke.
He said they were able to get the injured firefighter’s facemask off, along with his tank and protective gear. They then poured water on him to cool him down before covering him up for privacy.
At that point other firefighters were arriving, and an air ambulance was called for Costa, Cortez said.
Following Costa’s rescue, Cortez went back to traffic control but also let his sergeant know he was injured. He would later be sent to Adventist Health Clear Lake for treatment of his injuries.
He’s got bandages on his hand, where he suffered second-degree burns. “I’m feeling better. My throat’s a little sore,” he said.
In his time in the CHP, Cortez has seen some horrifying crashes, including one in which a man was burned. “You deal with it with the support of your peers.”
Still, he called Monday’s fire “pretty traumatic,” recounting watching employees cry. He said many in the community continue to suffer from PTSD from the wildland fires.
Cortez said the CHP later called to check on Costa and were told that he’s doing OK, which made him glad.
Cortez said he told his wife that he was just doing his job, and that the heroes are the ones who go inside the burning buildings.
He praised the response from local agencies to the incident, noting the special way first responders work together in Lake County.
“We’re a close-knit community,” Cortez said. “We’re all brothers and sisters in community service.”
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