LA County fireman reunites with woman he saved from Palisades Fire

An emotional reunion took place in Malibu Friday when a woman who was nearly enveloped by the Palisades Fire in the early hours of the inferno met with the Los Angeles County fire captain who found her and saved her life.

Patty Phillips had driven back to her home in the fire area to retrieve her dog, Koda, after the fire erupted Jan. 7. But while trying to again escape the flames, she took a wrong turn and her car got stuck on a large rock on a dirt road.

Realizing her potentially deadly predicament, she dialed 911 but was unable to reach anyone who could save her.

"There aren't words to describe what it's like, the idea that you're going to be burned alive in your car," Phillips told reporters Friday. "And I was praying to God, please let me die from smoke. Please do not let me be burned alive in my car."

Luckily for Phillips, her husband James — who was frantically trying to reach his wife — was able to reach firefighters along Pacific Coast Highway, and he begged them for help.

At that point, county fire Capt. Malcolm Dicks jumped into his truck and drove into the inferno, eventually finding Phillips and her stuck vehicle.

Upon seeing Dicks arrive, Phillips said, "I was like, never so thankful in my whole life."

"He's a big guy, he wraps his arm around me and he escorts me to his truck," Phillips said. "And I'm like, Malcolm, thank you. And he goes, `We still might die.' I mean, that's how bad the fire was."

Fortunately, Dicks, Phillips and Koda all made it safely out of the raging fire.

The Phillips family visited Dicks at county Fire Station 70 on Friday, bringing food — and hugs — to him and the other firefighters.

Dicks joked that he felt bad about having to quickly leave Phillips after dropping her off with her husband back on PCH.

"Sorry I had to run away, but there was a lot more things to do on the fire," he said.

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