Chicago Fire actor Brian J. White helps catch an illegal immigrant with a blowtorch near the LA Fire Department.
An on-screen hero comes to the rescue of his own community after stopping an arson suspect in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
On Thursday, “Chicago Fire” actor Bryan J. Wyatt was among several residents who arrested a man described as an illegal immigrant from Mexico after waving a torch on private property.
White, who lives in Woodland Hills, was preparing to evacuate the nearby Kennett Fire (now 100% contained) when he realized something was up outside.
California Wilders: Important phone numbers for Los Angeles-area residents and how to help them
“We were packing up, and all of a sudden I heard a scream in front of our house, ‘Put it down, put it down,'” White said. Deadline said. “I thought someone had a gun and my neighbor was forcing me, so my daughter went and hid in the closet, and I went outside and ran upstairs to help my neighbor.”
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, the individuals can be heard yelling at someone, ICE sources told Fox, as Juan Manuel Serra-Leyva, an illegal immigrant from Mexico.
See: Residents living in the neighborhood arrested the man who had an ‘explosive’
According to White, a local resident chased Sierra-Levan down to White’s direct neighbor’s house, where he stopped with a torch. White was allegedly trying to burn flammable debris in a dumpster.
“The man stood in front of our neighbor’s house and asked why he was there and supported him,” White told a third neighbor. White said the man was acting erratically and “then became very angry when asked what he was doing here.”
“He said he was looking for a place to hang out. And we said, ‘Well, this is not a place to hang out.’
The man is an illegal immigrant with the explosion arrested near La Fares: Snow Springs.
White and his neighbors tried to get the police – who were called by the men’s wives – to control the situation, but Serra-Leva “became more aggressive.” White and his neighbors decided to arrest a citizen.
“Two of our neighbors work on cars in the garage. They had a zip tie in one garage and (a) a little rope in the other garage. So we took him down and the police waited for him. 16 crews came. Within seven minutes of our phone call, the rest And it’s in the news.
A representative for White did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. At the deadline, the LAPD arrested Sierra-Levan on a felony probation violation, but lacked evidence on the arson charge.
In his decades-long career, White has played many characters in uniform, including a detective in “The Shield,” “Together” and “12 Rounds,” as well as a police officer in “Ghost Whisperer” and the 2005 film “Dirty.”
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Preparing for those roles — what White calls “hostage negotiation training” — is what allowed White to stay calm in the stressful situation outside the home.
“I’ve done a lot of police travel over the years, and one of the main things they say is to stay calm and communicate,” he said. “So I’m trying to make it clear to the neighbor that I don’t care about an explanation. He’s standing on my property with a firecracker, so I’m going to make sure he stays put until the police come.”
“Whatever weapon he had on him, we have to check if we are in danger,” he added. “We tried to stay calm, and then when it got physical we tried to make sure it was quick, that’s why we asked other neighbors to help us with ropes and zip ties. So yeah, thank you to everyone who trained me in police work and fire work and fighting to prepare for times like this.”
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As of Wednesday morning, there were three active fires burning in Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The Palisades fire remains at least 19 percent contained.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Bill Melujin contributed to this report.