2009 Red Cross Home Town Heroes Event
By frhayes | March 10, 2009
On Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 7:30 A.M. members from the Long Beach Fire Department, Community Emergency Response (CERT) board and the LBFD Fire Ambassadors board attended the annual Red Cross “Home Town Heroes” award presentation at the Long Beach Hyatt Hotel.
This event celebrates extraordinary acts by ordinary people who in a moment of crisis stepped forward bravely to help someone else, in many cases a stranger and used their Red Cross skills to save a life or prevent harm.
For more information on this event, how to receive training given by the Red Cross, or to just get involved refer to the information and web address provided below.
Throughout our communities, ordinary people perform extraordinary acts of courage and kindness everyday. The American Red Cross needs your help to identify and recognize our local Heroes! Heroic acts include, but are not limited to, use of CPR/First Aid, assisting a choking victim, fire rescue, helping aid a car accident victim, acting as a Good Samaritan, and water rescue.
The selected Hometown Heroes from the cities served by the Greater Long Beach Chapter – Artesia, Bellflower, Avalon/Catalina Island, Cerritos,Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount, and Signal Hill – will be honored at a recognition breakfast on March 10, 2010.
If there is any information on any incidents during 2009, or any knowledge of heroic acts that you believe would merit a nomination for a “Home Town Hero” please forward this information to Community services or call Javier Ramirez at (562) 570-1219. In addition to this request, during 2009 as these types of incidents occur please secure as much information as possible and forward as cited.
To Nominate a Hometown Hero or for more information call 562-490-4003 or download a nomination form at http://www.redcrosslb.org/show.aspx?mi=4585. All entries due by January 31, 2010.
Topics: Events | 33 Comments »
LBFD Heroes: Stories from the Fire Lines Event 2009
By frhayes | March 9, 2009
On Sunday, March 8, 2009 members from the community came to the “Heroes: stories from the fire lines” event hosted by the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) and Council Member Patrick O’Donnell. There they heard firefighters talk about heroic and even humorous stories from their experiences as a LBFD member.
Some of the stories that were told included Justin Bartlow and Bob Eldridge (LBFD Retired) re-living the “Gale Avenue Fire” that occurred on the West side of the city. Firefighter Bartlow at the time remembered a 70-foot wall of flames rising in the distance as he approached Gale Avenue, and firefighter Eldridge described the challenges of battling a blaze atop a river of oil.
Another interesting story revolved around how the LBFD became world renowned due the story of Sam the fire pole sliding cat. It seems that one-day Sam got into the second story “pole hole” which the firefighters used to get down to the fire truck, to respond quickly to fires. With a little prompting from the firefighters, Sam gripped the pole and slid down to the first floor like an “old pro”. Due to this unique talent a children’s book was written about Sam, and to the attendees surprise a woman in the crowd listening to the story stated that “I grew up reading that story, I loved it” (she however did not reveal her age). Sam the cat was also profiled in the long running publication of “Ripley’s believe it or not”
There were antique apparatus provided by the LBFD Museum, as well as current “in service” rigs staffed by individuals that gave visitors an “up close and personal” tour and insight on how this equipment was used in the past, and how it is used today to protect the community.
Also in attendance was the Search and Rescue team proudly displaying their station and rigs. The LBFD Fire Ambassadors had the fire safety house on scene to help educate children and their families on how to get out of a burning building safely. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) provided valuable information on disaster preparedness and how to acquire CERT training to help your family and neighbors in the event of a major disaster.
LBFD members from Local 372 were on hand to cook hot dogs and provide drinks, and Members from the Boy Scouts helped with parking and other duties. It is estimated that approximately 500 people took advantage of this great opportunity to hear some great stories, talk with some of the local firefighters, and to see the past and present capabilities of the LBFD.
Topics: Uncategorized | 33 Comments »
Mc Kennas Creek Restaurant Fire
By frhayes | March 9, 2009
On Friday, March 6, 2009 at 6:50 P.M. Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) units responded to the report of a grease fire in the ventilation system of Mc Kennas Creek Restaurant located at 190 Marina drive.
LBFD units arrived on scene and observed black smoke coming from the roof of the restaurant. Upon further investigation units found fire in the ventilation system that had started from a grease fire in the kitchen which had communicated throughout the three story structures to the roof level.
The Halon system in the hood system in the kitchen activated but was not able to adequately suppress the fire from spreading. LBFD units opened up the roof and through coordinated efforts with crews inside the building were able to extinguish the fire within approximately thirty minutes from time of arrival.
The restaurant was evacuated prior to the LBFD’s arrival with no injuries to civilians or firefighters reported. The LBFD Arson division is investigating the cause and circumstances of the fire in cooperation with the Long Beach Health Department. Minimal damage occurred to the structure and the restaurant after completing minor repairs will be re-opened as soon as possible.
Topics: Incidents | 28 Comments »
Vehicle Into A Bus Bench On Bellflower
By Jackawa Jackson | March 5, 2009
At 3:45 p.m. units from Long Beach Fire Department responded to the corner of Bellflower Blvd. and Centralia to a report of a vehicle into a bus bench. Upon arrival, they found a late model sedan had driven onto the sidewalk ,struck a bus bench, an then collided with a tree near-by. The force of the impact threw the bus bench nearly 20 feet from it’s original position. A 13 year old female with minor injuries and a 79 year old male with moderate injuries were seated on the bench at the time of the collision. The 79 year old male driver of the vehicle and a 50 year old female passenger sustained minor injuries. Another 78 year old female passenger in the car sustained moderate injuries. All patients were transported to local hospitals. There were no other vehicles involved in this accident and the cause is under investigation. 8 units from Long Beach Fire Department as well as 1 LA County squad responded to this incident.
Topics: Uncategorized | 25 Comments »
Rescue Drill Onboard The Queen Mary
By Jackawa Jackson | March 5, 2009
On the 27th of February 2009, the Long Beach Urban Search and Rescue Team once again joined forces with the USAR team from LA County fire station 103 for a confined space drill on board the famed Queen Mary. In this scenario there were a total of 3 victims-requiring rescue from below decks at the same time. Great skill and coordination is required in order to make this type of operation successful. Both teams utilize similar equipment and techniques, which, in turn, produces a seamless operation. This is only possible through continued training, which these teams do on a regular basis. 26 firefighters from Long Beach and 7 from LA County participated in this drill.
Topics: Events | 30 Comments »