Recent Posts
Culture December 14, 2018
While the Woolsey fire was destroying homes and wildlife in Malibu last month, ENTITY’s founder and CEO Jennifer Schwab’s home was saved by a hero, KTLA 5 reported.
Schwab’s neighbor, 79-year-old Jerry Perone, decided to stay in Malibu while everyone else was evacuating to protect his home.
Fortunately for Schwab, this means Perrone was prepared when a fire started in her backyard.
Perrone, who has lived in Malibu since the 1990s, has faced three other wildfires, so when he saw embers being ignited in Schwab’s backyard, Perrone and his son jumped a fence and took action.
“They have a pool and I have a pump with 250 feet of hose, so we had set it up and when the fire hit, we started hosing things down,” Perrone told KTLA.
He also continued to watch the area and fight back the flames that engulfed the bushes and trees for three hours.
ENTITY’s founder was extremely grateful for Perrone’s bravery.
“That not only take wherewithal, it takes a lot of heart,” Schwab told KTLA. “He’s my hero.”
Losing her Malibu would’ve been an extremely tough loss for Schwab and her family since their business in the Virgin Islands was destroyed by Hurricane Irma when the storm devastated the region.
“The odds are infinitesimal. To have two natural disasters in such a short period of time,” Schwab told KTLA.
But, as a strong woman, Schwab and her family were able to bounce back after the loss. While working on ENTITY, she has spent the past few months building and designing her Malibu home that she was hoping to move into before Christmas.
Fortunately, all of her hard work wasn’t destroyed by a natural disaster due to Perrone’s heroism.
“All night I tossed and turned before I got his phone call, when he said ‘your house is still standing,” Schwab said.
Perrone only decided to stay in his home despite being told to evacuate because he knew that firefighters wouldn’t be able to get to his area to save it.
“My house wouldn’t have been here every time, because the firemen are not here,” he told KTLA. “They can’t cover everything.”
Since this is his fourth fire, he knew what to expect and wasn’t afraid to fight off any flames. So, he doesn’t recommend for anyone else to attempt to save their own homes from a wildfire.
I had all the right equipment and have been through this. That’s the key,” he said. “A normal person should not stay.”
