LAFD News & Information

thank you for all you do for us. not to many say t...

2012-05-25T20:13:55.974-07:00

thank you for all you do for us. not to many say thank you for what you do but expect the world from you. from me, i thank you for being there when i need you. stay safe and have a wonderful weekend. smile by nina :-)

Dear Friend of the LAFD, As mentioned above - an...

2012-05-25T09:06:55.342-07:00

Dear Friend of the LAFD,

As mentioned above - and hopefully clarified by watching the videos, this was a real life event that happened to be caught on video.

Your Los Angeles Fire Department did respond to investigate the "fire out", and can affirm there were no injuries.

We trust you understand our message (kindly underscored by Ms. Hudson):

There are often dangerous items stored in our home. Something as seemingly benign as a spilled cleaning product or paint can lead to disaster when flammable fumes come into contact with the many sources of ignition that exist in a residential setting.

As firefighters, we also suggest you take time now to determine the location, status and proper use of fire extinguishers in your home.

We thank the producers of Pet Sense for allowing us to share their video in the interest of community knowledge and public safety. If this blog post and associated links help you store and use flammable products more safely, Yogi's experience will have paid great dividends.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

If you have a comment, question or concern regarding brush clearance in the City of Los Angeles, please contact the LAFD Brush Clearance Unit directly.

went to open house at fire stanion #5. had a great...

2012-05-13T22:04:49.298-07:00

went to open house at fire stanion #5. had a great time. the men were so nice and informative. thank you for opening your home to me. i will come again. stay safe. smile by nina :-)

Dear Friends of the LAFD, Saturday, April 28, 2...

2012-04-29T19:05:17.533-07:00

Dear Friends of the LAFD,

Saturday, April 28, 2012 from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena... the Los Angeles Heat hosted New York's Finest. A big "thank you" to all who attended and to all who made the game possible.

The "burn survivors" of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, emerged victorious! Congratulations to them. Our thoughts and prayers to you all... always!

As for the game itself, New York's Finest will go back home with the "W". The Heat fell a bit short in the hard fought battle. The final score was 14-0. Congratulations to them and thank you gentlemen for making the trip out West. Until we meet again, be safe!

Thanks for remembering and sharing details about t...

2012-04-29T17:54:35.811-07:00

Thanks for remembering and sharing details about this infamous period of "civil unrest". The professional actions of the LAFD and their committment to serving the entire community was nothing short of amazing.

Dear Friend of the LAFD, Here's a snapshot o...

2012-04-29T12:35:31.268-07:00

Dear Friend of the LAFD,

Here's a snapshot of the L.A. Heat's 2012 Season schedule. Unless otherwise mentioned, all games are in Southern California. Please be certain to check the Los Angeles Heat website to purchase your tickets and confirm dates, times and locations.

Los Angeles Heat vs. San Diego Enforcers
February 18, 2012

Los Angeles Heat vs. Orange County Lawmen
March 10, 2012

Los Angeles Heat vs. Inland Empire Enforcers
March 31, 2012

Los Angeles Heat vs. NYPD
April 28, 2012

Los Angeles Heat vs FDNY (in New York)
May 19, 2012

Los Angeles Heat vs. LAPD
June 2, 2012

We look forward to seeing you at every game!

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Anonymous 6:10, You are astute - and as mentione...

2012-04-19T09:28:45.730-07:00

Anonymous 6:10,

You are astute - and as mentioned above, construction of this new Fire Station was completed in late 2007. Conclusion and acceptance of the overall project and subsystems however, did not allow the crew to fully move "across the yard" into the new Fire Station until 2008.

New Fire Station 21 has now been actively serving the South Los Angeles area for nearly four years. Fiscal austerity however, precluded our having even a modest public dedication and grand opening until now.

I hope this information helps.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

hasnt this station been open for like 4 years

2012-04-16T18:10:20.883-07:00

hasnt this station been open for like 4 years

Anonymous 4:02, Thanks for visiting the LAFD New...

2012-04-12T16:30:47.029-07:00

Anonymous 4:02,

Thanks for visiting the LAFD News & Information blog. While the figures offered are for overall USA fire deaths and injuries (we're not aware of anyone who tracks such data by affiliated cuisine), the kitchen in most homes worldwide remains a site where fires can be readily prevented.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Were all those deaths from cooking grilled cheese ...

2012-04-12T16:02:17.922-07:00

Were all those deaths from cooking grilled cheese sandwiches?

Dear Friends of the LAFD, What's your favori...

2012-04-12T13:05:37.442-07:00

Dear Friends of the LAFD,

What's your favorite way to make a grilled cheese sandwich? Any tips, tricks, recipes (or horror stories) you wish to share? Were there any safety tips we failed to mention?

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Vale Hanzel, Thanks for the note and your kind w...

2012-04-12T09:29:35.189-07:00

Vale Hanzel,

Thanks for the note and your kind words. While we don't wish to speculate who "anonymous" people are - or where they live, we do appreciate an opportunity to clarify that in a time of profound austerity, the LAFD is doing all that it can with the resources it is given; and that's no small feat.

As you mention, the dynamic nature of our work has - and will continue over time, to present operational challenge. Let there be no doubt to any casual reader: Today's LAFD has "an eight foot table & a five foot tablecloth", and the impact of such places around-the-clock demands on the men and women who proudly serve you.

Clearly, the solutions to such issues lie well above my paygrade, and the best venue for leveraging change is not this blog (and certainly not this thread regarding a tragic fire).

We appreciate that you and others take time to visit this blog, and trust you join with us in wishing the injured man a complete and swift recovery from his painful injury.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Hello Brian, It's apparent you can't pleas...

2012-04-12T07:10:08.654-07:00

Hello Brian, It's apparent you can't please everyone all of the time. "Anonymous" apparently does not live in Los Angeles as he would know there are no station blackouts. You guys "move up" companies all the time. In this instance T98 moved to another station but who knew a fatal fire would occur in their first in district. Anonymous likes to point fingers and blame the system...Brian, you guys do a fabulous job for the residents of L.A. and for that I am truly grateful. I am a former resident of LA and was in he fire service for a period of time. Keep of the good work, and be safe.

Vale Hanzel
Cobb, Ca

Smokey Behr, Thanks for your comments - which we...

2012-04-11T21:48:06.575-07:00

Smokey Behr,

Thanks for your comments - which were in our draft and have now been incorporated into the article above. Please have a great day, and make it a safe one!

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Brian: Don't forget to add reading the labels ...

2012-04-11T21:23:26.883-07:00

Brian: Don't forget to add reading the labels on all chemicals that are used for cleaning, and to NEVER mix them with anything but water. Some cleaning chemicals, when mixed, can cause reactions that might be deadly; such as ammonia and bleach.

LAFD Firefighter, Thanks for the note, and unders...

2012-04-10T22:10:03.641-07:00

LAFD Firefighter,

Thanks for the note, and understandable inquiry.

I deeply appreciate you sharing that you're part of our team. Clarifying at the very least our backgrounds (and hopefully when possible our identity) allows our readers to better understand our perspective and lend it credence. Thank you for being polite and staying on topic.

I do hope those in- or outside our agency who had pressing questions specifically about tactics and command decisions spoke with Chief Combs in my absence.

Please know that your earlier message is still in queue, and will soon appear here - possibly above this message in the timeline, now that I have completed a "three-factor" though non-official review of all information available to me, including listening (repeatedly) to well more than an hour of fireground audio to confirm times, personnel, equipment and actions.

Such cursory review corraborates the digital time stamps of the response, that indicate a 3:51 response time for the first LAFD unit to arrive on scene.

Your earlier comment was simply held until I had a chance to review all such data, in case a prompt clarification was necessary of comments that I needed to consider as "anonymously offered as factual". I trust you understand the importance of me being fully prepared to offer perspective or corrections of even such plausible comments. I wish I had found the time to do this sooner, but we have been incredibly busy.

The Sunburst fire happened at a busy time for our Department, with (Aerial Ladder) Truck Company 98 indeed out of quarters due to a moveup to help cover overall demands across the City. They were not in a position to respond, though Engine Company 98 did respond from their home quarters.

By any and all accounts, all of the responders nmentioned in our report and by you gave it their all in battling flames in the 20' x 20' converted garage. We remain saddened by the loss of life, yet glad that no other persons were injured.

In closing... LAFD Admin has never told us to pull blog comments, and the only ones that were "non-published" this week were overseas spam and a pair of short, poorly crafted ad-hominem attacks, one full of vulgarity. For those who wish to post that, we have a place to send them ;)

In the future, I hope you'll pick up the phone whenever you have a concern, inquiry or suggestion regarding our endeavors at the LAFD EPI-Center (PSO Office). We don't always get it done as quick as we'd like, but with your help and guidance, we can alway strive to do better.

Fraternally Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Brian, Is there a reason why you did not post my ...

2012-04-10T19:21:31.519-07:00

Brian,

Is there a reason why you did not post my comments regarding the research and information I posted regarding this incident?

My post discussed the fact that the truck that normally would have been first in to this tragic fatality fire was moved up to another area. My comments also discussed the potential for future incidents such as this that may occur.

Brian, you are an outstanding PSO and calls them as they are. I sincerely hope that the administration did not censure my comment regarding this incident and the impact on public safety that the company closures and personnel reductions have had.

Keep up the good work keeping everyone informed.

Thanks

LAFD Firefighter

t98 was on a move up to cover another district

2012-04-10T17:21:06.103-07:00

t98 was on a move up to cover another district

Anonymous 7:35, There is sadly no complete roste...

2012-04-10T16:56:34.238-07:00

Anonymous 7:35,

There is sadly no complete roster of such information presently on-line - though you grasped the obvious.

While it is certainly on our list of things to offer - likely after a significant update to the Department's computer aided dispatching system, the backlog of projects - including outdated information at the LAFD.ORG site, will have such a project remain waiting for the foreseeable future.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Anonymous 1:51, Thank you for sharing your thoug...

2012-04-10T16:51:34.165-07:00

Anonymous 1:51,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We encourage Los Angeles residents to keep their local elected leaders aware of their concerns and observations - ditto members of the fire service, their labor representatives.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Anonymous 12:59, Thanks for politely sharing you...

2012-04-10T16:05:10.231-07:00

Anonymous 12:59,

Thanks for politely sharing your personal opinion.

While some CEO's periodically make mention of activities via on-line press release, you are correct that such has not been the historic practice of our agency.

The information came to our office 'through channels', and I'm not certain the Fire Chief knew in advance that one of my colleagues was going to post the information on the blog.

While I did not compose the post, I'll admit it rekindled a personal desire to have some type of on-line venue for voluntarily sharing work-related professional achievements from those of all ranks and assignments at the LAFD. We've got a lot of great people doing and achieving wonderful things, and it dismays me that we don't have the staff time necessary to share more. If you'd like to help change that, I'd welcome your assistance.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department

Brian, Many Department Managers in City Governmen...

2012-04-10T12:59:52.479-07:00

Brian,

Many Department Managers in City Government and Executives in the private sector attend training seminars conferences, etc, yet you do not see them posting and publicizing their attendance on their websites. Why did Chief Cummings publish and highlight the training seminar that he attended? Who cares? It smacks of self promotion. The Fire Chief should stay in town and concentrate on issues and items that are currently affecting the citizens of LA and the members of the LAFD (budget, dispatch issues, etc). Besides, he should have attended such a seminar long before he was selected as Fire Chief.

Is there a written document anywhere listing all t...

2012-04-09T19:35:43.837-07:00

Is there a written document anywhere listing all the apparatus codes (ie FT=Foam Tender, EA=Emergency Air) etc.

To interested readers. Truck 98 should have been ...

2012-04-09T13:59:03.886-07:00

To interested readers.

Truck 98 should have been the first truck to be dispatched and arrive on scene at this tragic fire. Truck 98 was not available because they were covering another area which has become quite common after the closure of 18 fire companies and elimination of 360 firefighting positions.

Truck 89 was the first in truck which is farther away than Truck 98. It is unknown if having Truck 98 on this incident would have made a difference in this specific incident. Although we all know that agressive fire operations include coordinated rapid fire attack and ventilation to give victims the best possible chance to survive and or be found by rescuers. Sadly that did not occur in this incident.

Two things are for certain. 1. It is extremely rare on the LAFD to assign a Rescue Ambulance (two personnel) alone to ventilation at a structure fire (although in this instance it was a good call).
2. Operations at incidents such as this one will become the norm and not the exception with the busy summer months ahead and the ever increasing demand and call for emergency services.

Lets hope no one else is killed or injured due to inadequate staffing and closed fire and rescue resources.

LAFD Firefighter