Local Fireman Gets National Recognition After Heroically Saving Dog from Fire

The call came in at about 10:30 a.m. on March 3. A large amount of black smoke was reportedly pouring out of a home in the 4800 block of Bentree Avenue in Long Beach.

Bill Noda, an Arcadia resident and member of the Long Beach Fire Department, was on duty that day. As an engineer, it's usually his responsibility to drive the fire truck on calls. But March 3 was different.

Bill had switched roles with an engineer trainee so he didn’t drive the truck that day. Instead, his duty was to search for victims inside the house. According to Noda, 99 percent of the time it’s people they find.

Fire Captain Brad Hartwell was the first one to spot what appeared to be a lifeless dog overcome by smoke in the bathroom. Hartwell alerted Noda to the dog and Noda acted quickly, lifting and transporting the approximately 60 pound dog out of the burning house in under a minute.

Even though Noda had gotten the dog, who he found out later was a Boxer named Elmo, outside to fresh air, things were still grim.

“We thought Elmo was dead. He took one breath in a 15 second period,” Noda recalled.

Using a specially designed respirator for dogs as well as a bag valve device used to assist infants, Noda and his team began the process of providing supplemental oxygen to Elmo.

“Elmo wasn’t breathing,” Noda explains, “so we had to do his breathing for him.”

And soon enough, Elmo became responsive, his eyes opening and his breath slowly returning. He was going to make it.

“It just wasn’t Elmo’s day to die,” Noda said.

It’s rare to find a guy as modest as Noda so when ABC’s Good Morning America got wind of the story and wanted to interview him for his part in the rescue, he was apprehensive.

“I told the producer there were so many people involved [in the rescue],” Noda said.

But Good Morning America just wanted him, fellow Fireman Paul Rodriguez, and Sarah and Mark Neal, Elmo’s owners who were out running errands when the fire occurred, to participate in the interview portion of the five-minute segment.

Even though the whole fire department team didn’t get featured, Noda was glad to get the story out there.

“It was a feel good story and there’s a lot of bad things going on in the world. People wanted to see something good,” he said.

Noda has a long history in Arcadia, having lived here since 1978, attending Foothills Middle School back when it was Foothills Junior High and graduating from Arcadia High School in 1985.

His parents Ken and Hideko Noda, owned and operated Noda Sushi on Foothill Boulevard in Arcadia for 32 years before selling it. The Arcadia location has closed but the new owners opened one in Pasadena.

Noda and his wife Donna, along with their two kids, Lauren, 11, and Kayla, 8, live in the Lower Rancho area of Arcadia, just behind the Arboretum. The kids attend Hugo Reid Elementary, where Donna is a very active member of the PTA.

Noda didn't always work at the Long Beach Fire Department either. He previously  served two years as an apprentice fireman with Arcadia's Fire Department. Due to budget cuts, Noda has been making the early morning commute to Long Beach for the past 13 years.

Before appearing on Good Morning America and becoming something of a local celebrity, Noda was well-known around town for another talent.

 “The first time I met Bill, I actually tasted some teriyaki chicken at a back to school event," Lan Nguyen, a fellow Hugo Reid parent and family friend said.  “It was a potluck so I literally sampled over 50 dishes since I was visiting each family as the PTSA President. That was the only dish I asked, "Who brought this?!" The folks all knew and replied, "Bill made it!"  It is something special.”  

Now though it’s not just teriyaki chicken that this Arcadian is known for.

But despite his heroic efforts, Noda maintains his typical modesty. 

“It wasn’t just the two guys on [Good Morning America]. It was a total team effort. Just the right people at the right place doing the right things," Noda said.

Elmo’s owner Sarah Neal has a different perspective, as she had this to say to the folks at Good Morning America.

“We owe our lives to them. The Long Beach Fire Department, they’re our angels and our heroes.”

To check out Noda’s appearance on Good Morning America, click here.