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Mail carrier saves man's life
By Aldrich Tan/Staff writer

July 22, 2005

TULARE - A man has his mail carrier to thank for saving him from a house fire.

Tulare mail carrier John Mexicano, 34, was making his daily rounds Wednesday in the 500 block of Welch Drive when he noticed smoke coming out of a duplex at 2:25 p.m. and immediately alerted authorities.

Tulare fire Capt. Steve Facchini and Capt. Cameron Long managed to pull out Rene Serranos, 30, in the first fire rescue reported this year.

The fire was caused by a malfunction of the roof's evaporative cooler, Tulare fire Chief Michael Threlkeld said. The motor sparked, overheated and sent the smoke and fire into the house.

Mexicano alerted neighbor Clayton Lintz, 49, after he called authorities. Lintz's daughter Delia, 29, and Serranos, her fiance, lived in the burned unit.

"I kicked down the door, and there were flames everywhere," Lintz said. "Rene was screaming `just let it burn!' "

The fire department arrived at 2:38 p.m. Facchini said Serranos was barely conscious in the kitchen when he and Long entered the burning house. Firefighters put out the fire within minutes of Serranos' rescue, Threlkeld said.

Serranos did not suffer any major burns, but he inhaled a lot of smoke, which could have damaged his trachea, Tulare fire Capt. Don Sexton said. He was taken to the Tulare District Hospital at 2:45 p.m., and is recovering at the hospital, Threlkeld said.

Serranos told Threlkeld that he was sleeping when the fire started. The fire did an estimated $27,000 in damage to the house, Threlkeld said.

Delia Lintz was at her sister's house on P Street with her five children - Vanessa, 11, Andreya, 7, Christina, 3, Izabelah, 2, and 11-month-old Rene Jr. - at the time of the fire. After her fiance was rushed to the hospital and the fire was put out, she checked her mail.

"Thank God for the mailman," Delia Lintz said.

The reporter can be reached at atan@visalia.gannett.com.