Acts of Valor
On his commute home from work, Captain Floyd Comacho witnessed a traffic accident on the 2 Freeway. He saw a person seizing and unconscious in a vehicle that was turned into the center divider on the freeway. The accelerator was fully depressed, the tires smoking and the car was lurching. Read more...
The on-duty members of Fire Station 114 responded to a reported airplane down in the Oat Mountain Range. The aircraft was found pancaked into the side of the mountain. The wings remained intact, which added to concern about possible downwash moving the aircraft. Firefighter/Paramedic John Rodriguez was the first to reach the airplane. Read more...
Jumper on North Hill Street
A 30-year-old male was precariously positioned on a concrete beam on the fourth floor of a downtown parking structure — 49 feet from the ground. While LAPD crisis negotiators were talking with him, Captain John Cappon's (left) crew set up a rope capture system. All members were in brush coats, helmets and work gloves with the exception of Captain Cappon. He said he chose not to wear his gear because he did not want to intimidate the suspect. Read more...
Structure Fire
When Task Force 64 responded to a reported structure fire at an apartment building one block from the station, they discovered heavy smoke and fire showing from one unit of the two-story apartment building as people scrambled for safety.
Neighbors alerted Firefighter Raymond Topete (left) that there might be someone trapped inside the burning unit. He immediately notified Captain Mark Scott (right), who coordinated the fire attack and search efforts. In the intense heat of the living room, Captain Scott found an unconscious 10-year-old boy and carried him to the paramedics outside the unit. Read more...
Off-Duty Shooting/Public Assistance
Firefighter/Paramedic Scott Carter and his wife, Angie, visited a café in Hawthorne to dine and sing karaoke. Around 9:00 p.m. gun shots rang out on the opposite side of the café. Patrons hit the floor, while others screamed in panic.
Firefighter/Paramedic Carter tried to calm the patrons and to assist them in exiting the building which only had two exits — one front and one rear. He didn’t know if anybody was injured and wanted to get his wife to safety while also being a reliable witness at the scene. As the mass exit was taking place, he was struck in his head from behind. He grabbed his wife and yelled, "call 911," as he had forgotten his cell phone at home. Read more...
Single-Family Dwelling Fire
Firefighter Brian Stires responded with his company to a reported structure fire at 6500 Goodland Avenue, North Hollywood. Upon their arrival, they found a single-family dwelling well involved with fire.
Fire conditions were becoming more intense and the dwelling’s structural integrity was deteriorating. Firefighter Stires was told that an elderly woman was trapped in the bedroom of the house. Read more...
Hollyridge Fire
A full alarm assignment rolled onto the city streets to a reported structure fire in the hills just below the famous Hollywood Sign. What firefighters found upon arrival was a three-story single family-dwelling with heavy smoke showing on the top floor. Pressurized smoke and fire bellowed from the attic vents as Firefighters arrived on scene and began to stretch a firefighting hose into the involved home. Truck 35 arrived on scene and was given the responsibility of laddering and ventilation. Apparatus Operator David Rogers and Read more...
Swift Water Rescue
Engine 98 was dispatched as part of swift water rescue assignment to two reported victims in the Pacoima Wash. As Engine 98 arrived on scene, crew members immediately saw two young girls trapped in fast moving water only a short distance upstream from their location. Engine 98 was first to arrive at the rescue point for the Pacoima Wash. Under orders from Captain Roger Duke, Read more...
Truck 61 Electrocution
On the outskirts of Hollywood, fire companies from the LAFD responded to a reported structure fire near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
The structure had light smoke surrounding the upper floors and Engines 27 and 41 were assigned to locate the source of the fire. Trucks 27 and 61 placed their aerial ladders to the roof of the four-story occupied office building.
The Commanding Officer of Truck 61, Captain Eric Greene, was the last member Read more...
Automobile Fire Rescue
Firefighter Arthur Burgess was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 101 headed toward home in Santa Maria. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) had dispatched a unit to investigate reports of a “wrong-way” vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes.
The “wrong-way” vehicle was a Ford Explorer that collided with a Dodge Caravan. Occupants of both vehicles were trapped, and the driver Read more...
PCP Incident
Engine and Rescue 34 responded to what was described as a surreal scene of darkness and screaming. A PCP abuser was threatening the lives of an infant and a woman. Blood covered the entire scene as Captain Lorenzo Armstead, and Firefighters Joshua Dolinski and Mark Hatcher made their way into the darkened area with only one flashlight to illuminate the way.
Without orders, these three Firefighters sprung into aggressive attack on the person Read more...
Vallarta Market Fire
Los Angeles Firefighters responded to a major emergency structure fire at the Vallarta Market at 16107 Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys. Fire conditions were extremely dangerous. The fire intensified and firefighters were ordered out of the structure. In his efforts to exit the building, Firefighter Enrique Graciano became disoriented and was unable to find his way out of the building. He activated his emergency procedure to acquire help. Fire conditions inside in the market were getting fire threatening. Read more...
Palomar Hotel Fire
Palomar Hotel Fire presented both a challenging and dangerous emergency incident. The first-arriving resources found a pre-1933 four-story center-hallway apartment with fire burning on all floors. Multiple occupants found themselves in great distress requiring immediate rescue measures.
Captain Robert McMaster and Apparatus Operator Jose Cardona accomplished rescues with extreme personal risk to their own health and safety. Read more...
Jumper Incident
It was just after the dinner hour when Rescue 88 was dispatched to an “Attempted Suicide” in a six-story office building in Sherman Oaks. Upon arrival, Firefighter-Paramedics Paul Schori and Fernando Vasquez quickly searched the building and were directed by a passerby to the rear of the building. They discovered a woman on the sixth floor balcony in grave emotional distress and preparing to jump.
A coordinated effort between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Firefighter/Paramedics on scene averted the woman’s suicide attempt. Read more...
Attempted Suicide
Then Firefighter-Paramedic Michael Conway and Firefigher-Paramedic Joaquin Lapastora were assigned to Rescue 29. At approximately 11p.m. they were returning from an incident when they observed a man walking down the street at Western Avenue and the 101 Freeway. What was unusual about this man was that he was carrying a large section of rope.
Firefighter-Paramedic Michael Conway and Joaquin Lapastora saw the man stop on the overpass and begin tying off the end of the rope to the overpass rail. Read more...