A man cut his arms to the bone with handsaws at a California home improvement store and was found in a pool of blood, authorities said.

Pasadena fire Capt. Art Hurtado was among horrified shoppers in the aisle Wednesday. He was shopping with his wife on his day off and jumped in to help.

Hurtado and his wife, Isabelle, saw West Covina police officers rush to the man, and he joined them.

"The officers had already found a man face down," Hurtado said, "and the whole store is in chaos."

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"People just couldn’t believe it," added West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez. “He walked into the saw area, picked up a couple of saws in the saw area and started cutting both of his arms.”

Hurtado said that as soon as he noticed the first saw, he "thought it was just going to be a crime scene and a fatality."

Without gloves or any equipment, the 21-year fire department veteran began working on the victim.

"He was just barely breathing," Hurtado said.

But Hurtado kept trying, using what was on the store shelves around him.

"I can save this guy, if I engage, that’s what we do," he said.

"I started asking for a lot of towels," Hurtado added. "They finally showed up with a large packet of quarter-inch rope, nylon rope. And I ripped it open and just stretched it out, and I told the police officer I want 24-inch sections. Just start cutting."

Lopez said the man used several handsaws — including one that is used to cut drywall — to cut "all the way down to the bone."

"It was a godsend," Lopez said. "He happened to be at the right place at the right time, probably saved his life."

It was all in a day’s work, to Hurtado.

"Were we in a good place for it? No, but you improvise," he said. "You make things do. Like I said, if I didn’t have rope, I would have used my shoelaces. We would have made it work."

Home Depot told NBC Los Angeles in a statement that it will cooperate with law enforcement's investigation. The victim remained in surgery late Wednesday.

This story was originally published on Thu Apr 11, 2013 8:12 AM EDT

Richard Castaldo fought for his life 13 years ago in Colorado when he was shot by two teens at Columbine High School. Now, he is struggling to keep his condominium in Southern California, trying to ward off foreclosure like millions of others.

Castaldo, who is confined to a wheelchair and has a bullet lodged permanently in his spine, was one of the first students shot on April 20, 1999, when he was 17.

Five years ago, he came to Los Angeles to attend a sound engineering school with the dream of pursuing a career in music. At the time, the Hollywood condo he bought seemed like a wise investment.

“I feel kind of stupid, honestly, because I should have known better,” he said. “I kind of bought into the notion that of course the condo was going to go up in value, which, of course, obviously it hasn’t.”

Castaldo’s story mirrors that of countless homeowners who were hit hard by the housing crisis and fell victim to predatory lending. He was advised to take an interest-only loan to buy an overpriced property.

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In February, he fell behind on his mortgage payments. While there were plenty of solicitors who offered to help, the assistance didn’t come without a hefty price.

“I get mailings every day from somebody, but of course they all want money up front,” Castaldo, now 31, said.

Inside the foreclosure factory, they're working overtime

Then, surfing the Internet, he found a group that knows all about eviction: Occupy Los Angeles. Ever since their encampment was evicted from City Hall, they've made it their mission to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

Occupy Fights Foreclosures says that it aims to “support, educate and empower homeowners at risk to save their homes from fraudulent foreclosure.”

Foreclosure fallout cost nearby homeowners $2 trillion, report finds

“I feel like they’re really the only group that doesn't have an ulterior motive,” Castaldo said.

At one of their meetings, he met a lawyer who is now trying to help him, but he doesn't have much time. Castaldo’s condo is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction in December.

“It’s nerve racking for sure,” he said. “I’m not bitter in terms of me. I’m bitter that stuff like that in Aurora keeps happening. It doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to change.”