Owner of ‘miracle’ Malibu mansion reveals why he thinks house survived raging fire
The owner of a nearly $9 million Malibu mansion miraculously spared being leveled by the raging Los Angeles wildfires told The Post on Friday he was stunned to learn that when the smoke cleared, it was still standing.
“It’s a miracle — miracles never cease,” said retired waste-management exec and married dad of three David Steiner, 64, of Texas.
Steiner said he thought his stunning three-story California structure — which was vacant at the time — was a goner when a local contractor sent him video of flames and smoke engulfing his property and his neighbors’ Tuesday.
“[The contractor] was watching the news reports and saw my neighbor’s house going down and told me, ‘It looks like your house is going, too,’’’ Steiner recalled.
The ex-exec said that when he got the video, “It looked like nothing could have possibly survived that, and I thought we had lost the house.’’
Then people started contacting him saying, “Your house is all over the news,’’ Steiner said of the extraordinary photos capturing his unique white three-story structure standing like a beacon in the middle of the charred smoking remains of neighboring multimillion-dollar properties.
“I started getting pictures and realized we had made it through,’’ Steiner said.
“My wife sent me something this morning that said, ‘Last house standing.'” And it brought a pretty big smile to my face at a pretty bad time.”
Steiner, a lawyer and former head of Waste Management, Inc., in Houston, said he believes that his property’s ultra-sturdy construction — likely designed to protect it from earthquakes — saved it from the Palisades Fire that destroyed the homes all around it.
“It’s stucco and stone with a fireproof roof,’’ he said, adding that it also includes pilings “like 50 feet into the bedrock’’ to keep it steady when powerful waves crash into the seawall below it.
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“To be totally honest with you, I never in a million years thought a wildfire would jump to the Pacific Coast Highway and start a fire,’’ Steiner said.
“I thought, ‘If we ever have an earthquake, this would be the last thing to go.’ I honestly didn’t think that if we had a fire, this would be the last thing to go,” he said of the 4,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home, which he bought from a producer. “And it was.
“The architecture is pretty nice. But the stucco and fireproof roof are real nice,’’ Steiner said.
More than 20 firefighters also battled over 12 hours to help save the structure, one of the smoke-eaters later told The Post.
Steiner said that while he is grateful for his situation, he is keeping everything in perspective.
“It wasn’t a happy time,’’ he said of watching the smoke and flames surrounding his house. “But I can replace it. It’s not a person.
“I was getting texts from people saying, ‘We’re praying for you. It’s so horrible.’
“I said, ‘Don’t pray for me — what I lost is material goods.’ … I lost a property, but others lost their homes,’’ he said.
“I didn’t have my family’s mementos there. It wasn’t my family home,’’ said the dad, explaining he bought the property when two of his three boys were in the area for school and the family needed a place to stay while visiting them.
“My heart goes out to those who lost their homes,’’ said Steiner, adding his property was not being used as a residence anymore at the time.
The New Orleans native said he believes his home likely at least suffered smoke damage and that he has insurance, although “they will only cover 50% for a wildfire.”
He noted that his house has a unique appeal — in addition to its fire-defeating features.
“It’s actually built like a cruise ship. The fireplace chimney looks like the smoke stack of a boat,” Steiner said. “And then the back balcony looks like the balcony off a cruise ship. And it feels like a cruise ship because you’re right there on the water.”
