67-Year-Old Dad Jumps from Second Floor and Saves Entire Family from House Fire (Video)

A California father is being hailed as a real-life hero after leaping from a second-story window to save his entire family from a raging house fire that destroyed their Santa Ana home early Friday morning.

For 67-year-old Otoniel Gomez, the choice was simple. “To me, it’s the family. We are alive — that’s it,” he told KNBC. “The other thing, it’s just material.”

Fire investigators say the blaze likely started on the first floor around 1:30 a.m. A woman inside the home woke up to the smell of smoke and alerted Gomez, who tried to open the bedroom door but was forced back by intense heat and darkness. With no way out, he jumped from the second-floor window onto a patio cover and then nine more feet to the ground.

Once outside, Gomez grabbed a ladder and went straight back into rescue mode. He helped his wife escape, then rushed to save their 11-year-old son, who was still asleep upstairs. According to Capt. Sean Doran of the Orange County Fire Authority, Gomez’s voice could be heard urgently but calmly calling to the boy through the window: “Open the window… We’re going to have to jump. We’re going to get you out of here.”

After getting the child to safety, Gomez climbed back up the ladder again, this time to rescue his adult son and an elderly woman. Minutes later, flames consumed the entire second floor. Firefighters arrived at 1:35 a.m., but by then all five family members — and even the family’s Chihuahua, Lyka — were already outside and alive thanks to Gomez’s actions.

“Five people are alive today thanks to the heroic actions of a 67-year-old man,” the fire department wrote in a social media post showing video of the home fully engulfed.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

“Open the window, son! Jump!” a father shouted in Spanish as he pounded on the window of his sleeping son, with fire racing through their home.

Five people are alive today thanks to the heroic actions of a 67-year-old man at his home on South Linda Way in @CityofSantaAna. pic.twitter.com/lNWmoJQYLa

— OCFA (@OCFireAuthority) December 5, 2025

Gomez’s daughter told KNBC that his calm strength has defined him for as long as she can remember. “Growing up, I never saw him panic. I never saw him stressed out,” she said. “As a child, I never felt uncertain or scared because of him.”

The family, now left with nothing but each other, is homeless and trying to rebuild. Gomez’s daughter, Daisy Valdivia, created a GoFundMe to help them find a place to live and replace necessities for her younger sibling who is still in elementary school. “My dad, Otoniel, is facing one of the most difficult times of his life,” she wrote.

Neighbors say the emotional toll on Gomez is evident. “He was distraught and full of fear. He almost lost everything,” neighbor Frank Ramirez told KNBC. “Thank God he got that much out of it. The rest of it is replaceable.”