vinny to the rescue...

There I (Vinny) was....driving through the town of Perris just as nightfall changed the sky to a navy blue. I could see a plume of black smoke rising like a tempest above the houses on a nearby street. As I drove closer I could see the yellow glow of a fire ascending upward. Some dude's house was on fire!! I quickly pulled over and ran to the residence, passing a number of people taking pictures and gabbing on their cell phones while watching the blaze. I could tell it was in the backyard and so I ran into the yard and along the house to the rear of the property. There was a 6 foot fire that had engulfed the fence, a tree, and was spewing out out of some molten black mass on the ground ( in a previous life they were 2 large plastic trash cans). Luckily someone had shown up before me and was trying to fight the blaze with a hose, unsuccessfully. I grabbed a second hose and together, like Eegon and Ray, we crossed the streams and tried to close the fiery portal of death. It was like Backdraft... only worse. The smoke was horrendous... but we fought on! The fumes were toxic... but we persevered! Finally we were able to contain the blaze and eventually extinguished it just as the fire department arrived. Now I don't want anyone calling me up about this or giving me plaques or writing my name on some town shrine. I don't want to be treated any differently than your average hero.