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LOS ANGELES -- A man who took refuge in a hot tub to escape the flames of the massive Station Fire last month is speaking out -- and he wants an apology.
Julius Goff, who suffered serious burns, was criticized by officials for ignoring mandatory evacuation orders. But, he says, he stayed behind to warn 10 people in his Big Tujunga Canyon neighborhood who never received an order to leave.
Goff, 50, says sheriff's officials only told a portion of his neighborhood to evacuate on Aug. 26.
"They go 'you need to leave.' I said there's people down there, my roommate is down there and there's other people down there. And they said well we're out of here and they just got in their cars and took off," Goff told KTLA.
He says he rescued about 10 people, including one in a wheelchair, before becoming trapped while trying to rescue his roommate Peter.
"There was nowhere for me to go but in the house," he said.
Once inside the house, the men were overrun by flames and had no other choice but to jump into the jacuzzi, Goff said. They grabbed their landlord's dog and jumped in.
Goff says he believes the walls surrounding the hot tub helped protect them from the 80-to-100-foot flames. Still, they couldn't completely escape the intense heat.
"The fire was so hot my nose was dripping... my whole face just dripped," he said.
A sheriff's helicopter rescued them about an hour and a half later.
Goff suffered severe burns and spent a month at The Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Peter was also hurt and has since been released.
While recuperating, Goff watched TV coverage of sheriff's officials and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger scolding him for ignoring evacuation orders.
Goff says if it weren't for him, his neighbors would not have made it out alive. He feels he's being wrongly accused and is asking for officials to apologize.
The governor's office responded by saying, "The governor's No. 1 priority is the safety of all Californians, and he takes the evacuation orders very seriously in any emergency situation."
The arson-caused Station Fire fire is 98 percent contained and has scorched 160,557 acres in the Angeles National Forest, making it the largest fire in modern Los Angeles County history.
Julius Goff, who suffered serious burns, was criticized by officials for ignoring mandatory evacuation orders. But, he says, he stayed behind to warn 10 people in his Big Tujunga Canyon neighborhood who never received an order to leave.
Goff, 50, says sheriff's officials only told a portion of his neighborhood to evacuate on Aug. 26.
"They go 'you need to leave.' I said there's people down there, my roommate is down there and there's other people down there. And they said well we're out of here and they just got in their cars and took off," Goff told KTLA.
He says he rescued about 10 people, including one in a wheelchair, before becoming trapped while trying to rescue his roommate Peter.
"There was nowhere for me to go but in the house," he said.
Once inside the house, the men were overrun by flames and had no other choice but to jump into the jacuzzi, Goff said. They grabbed their landlord's dog and jumped in.
Goff says he believes the walls surrounding the hot tub helped protect them from the 80-to-100-foot flames. Still, they couldn't completely escape the intense heat.
"The fire was so hot my nose was dripping... my whole face just dripped," he said.
A sheriff's helicopter rescued them about an hour and a half later.
Goff suffered severe burns and spent a month at The Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Peter was also hurt and has since been released.
While recuperating, Goff watched TV coverage of sheriff's officials and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger scolding him for ignoring evacuation orders.
Goff says if it weren't for him, his neighbors would not have made it out alive. He feels he's being wrongly accused and is asking for officials to apologize.
The governor's office responded by saying, "The governor's No. 1 priority is the safety of all Californians, and he takes the evacuation orders very seriously in any emergency situation."
The arson-caused Station Fire fire is 98 percent contained and has scorched 160,557 acres in the Angeles National Forest, making it the largest fire in modern Los Angeles County history.
