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Arash Azarkhish said he did all he could to help his new neighbors across the street escape from the deadly fire Sunday. 

When he heard shouts that a house was on fire, he said he immediately called 911 and ran across the street to 2610 Martin Luther King Way just as Michelle Plesa was jumping from a smoke -filled, second story window into the arms of another good Samaritan. 

“I grabbed an ax, a pick, a ladder and a hoe,” he said. “I went and broke some windows and smoke came out, but I didn’t hear any screaming or anything.” 

The recent UC Berkeley graduate said that Plesa was screaming that there were three more people in the house. 

But he said that the house went up in flames in a matter of minutes. 

“There was nothing we could do,” he said. “It was very quick – two or three minutes before the fire took over the entire house.” 

“They didn’t really have a chance,” he said of Azalea, 21; Francisco, 46 and Florita Jusay, 46, who perished in the fire. “They didn’t break any windows out or anything. Maybe they couldn’t?” 

The Jusays immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when Azalea was just three-years-old, said UC Berkeley spokeswoman Marie Felde.  

Azalea was a straight-A student majoring in integrative biology. Last year she had ran her first marathon and was a resident advisor at the Unit 3 dormitory. She was valedictorian at St. Joseph’s High School in Lakewood, in Southern California. 

In a statement to the press, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl said he was “deeply saddened.” 

“News of this tragedy is so very, very sad. On behalf of the entire campus community, I wish to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who died. To lose a student and her parents in such a terrible fire is difficult for us all to comprehend. We are, however, enormously thankful to the neighbors who assisted in the rescue of the young woman who survived and to the Berkeley firefighters who responded to the fire,” Berdahl said. 

Azarkhish said he woke when he heard shouts of “the house is on fire,” by another man who was passing by on a bicycle and spotted the flame. 

He said that another man who was happened to be walking by also assisted in the rescue of Plesa. 

“We didn’t hear any alarms, it was very quiet,” said Susan Azarkhish, Arash’s mother. 

Gloria Ramirez, who was visiting her mother at 2614 Martin Luther King Way, next door to the house, said that Plesa said she and the Jusays had tried to open the windows the day before, but were unable to because they were painted shut. 

Azarkhish said that Plesa stayed at his house until her mother arrived from Lakewood. 

Jason Smith, the Chapter Director of Public Affairs for the Bay Area Red Cross said that members of the Red Cross disaster action team arrived on the scene to provide support for Plesa and the other young women who have been displaced by the fire. 

He said that the organization has provided two of the young women vouchers for clothing and meals, as well as motel housing, and he was scheduled to meet with another of the roommates. 

He said that they will also provide disaster mental health counseling to the women if necessary. 

Felde said that the university promised the other women that they will help them as much as needed. She said that two studio apartments have already been offered for the students to rent. 

“If that doesn’t suit their needs, we’ll be sure to take care of them,” she said. 

Anyone interested in helping may call the Bay Area Red Cross at 1-888-4-HELP-BAY.