A Riverside man fell from a window after helping a pregnant woman escape an apartment fire last week, and now his family says his hospital bills are stacking up far beyond what they can afford with the looming possibility that he might have a leg amputated.
On Sept. 16, security guard Brian Jackson, 48, went to visit a friend at an apartment building in the 3400 block of 5th Street in Riverside. The apartment caught fire in what Jackson described as mere minutes.
“It happened so fast, I panicked and started running to the rooms to make sure that everyone was OK, and that’s when I saw the pregnant girl trying to jump out the window,” Jackson recalled in a phone call with The Times from his hospital bed.
As fire ripped through the apartment building, the stepfather of five paused to talk the unidentified pregnant woman out of jumping from the second-story window to the dirt and concrete below.
“In five minutes, it felt like the whole house was engulfed in flames,” Jackson said. “Everything I touched was hot … doorknobs and everything.”
Jackson said it was a “scary situation” as the window started to melt.
“I told her, you can’t jump out this window, girl,” Jackson said. “Look how far it is down. … If you jump out of this window, you’ll be in trouble.”
Finally, help arrived when a passerby lowered the woman from the window with the help of a ladder. Although Jackson hasn’t reunited with the woman yet, he believes her to be safe. But in an unpredictable turn of events, Jackson said an explosion from within the home threw him from the window onto the ground.
Tehani Gutierrez, Jackson’s stepdaughter, said her mother reached out to tell her that Jackson had broken his legs and they had to go to the hospital. “Honestly … I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “My stepdad is a big part of my life, he’s been with my mom for 15 years.”
Jackson is now hospitalized at Riverside Community Hospital, where he is being treated for broken legs and a right foot that has “lost all feeling,” Gutierrez said, adding that doctors told the family that his leg might have to be amputated.
Jackson was in financial straits when the incident occurred, according to his stepdaughter. “I have 5 kids … we’re trying our best to support [my stepdad], but with no insurance since he can’t work now, we’re trying to find a way how.”
Gutierrez said that the cost of the surgeries for Jackson, his physical therapy and a wheelchair as he recovers will reach into the tens of thousands. The family has turned to GoFundMe to raise money.
“It’s a pretty emotional situation,” Gutierrez said. “[My stepdad] is very strong-minded, a family guy. … He’s always been active with my kids, and we’re trying to do our best to help him.”
So far, the fundraiser that Gutierrez set up has reached half of its $50,000 goal.
Riverside Fire Chief Greg White told The Times that the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, and the cause remains undetermined.
“When first responders arrived, there were two people hanging from the apartment window and three on the ground, one of which I presume was Mr. Jackson,” Fire Chief White said. “Our investigations unit is looking into it as we speak.”
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