In an unexpected act of heroism, California Fire Chief Brian Fennessy single-handedly saved his brother's house and a neighbor's home from a wildfire, armed only with a carton of milk and a couple of beers.

With nearly 50 years of firefighting experience, Fennessy had never encountered a situation quite like this one. When he first heard about the Eaton Fire spreading through the canyon above Altadena, he immediately rushed to check on his brother’s house. Unable to reach his family by phone, he made his way to the area, determined to help if needed.

Upon arriving, Fennessy received the phone call he'd been hoping for: confirmation that his brother and family had safely evacuated. However, he was already in the neighborhood and decided to check on his brother’s property.

As he drove through the area, he saw buildings either completely engulfed in flames or reduced to rubble. But his brother's home, along with a nearby neighbor's house, remained untouched. That’s when he noticed the gas meter at the back of his brother’s house was on fire. Nearby, a hose was available, but no water came out.

“I thought I’ll check the refrigerator, and all that was in there was some milk and a couple of beers,” Fennessy told KABC.

Undeterred, he grabbed the milk and beers, rushed back to the fire, and used them to cool down the flames on the gas meter. "It wasn’t completely out, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to rekindle, but it was all I could do," he recalled.

As luck would have it, that small effort was enough. Both homes remained the only ones in the neighborhood not destroyed by the fire.