A Holiday Recap
By Steve Yamamoto | December 27, 2010
Well another holiday season has come and gone and the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) has once again had another busy and very successful December of holiday events. The LBFD wants to thank all of those that were involved with each function that made them a success.
Things kicked off again with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at The Pike with Station 13 in attendance with Santa Claus. A couple of days later the 2nd Street Belmont Shore Parade was a hit with Station 8 kindly hosting another Open House with tons of hot apple cider, hot cocoa, cookies, and candy canes being passed out to the eager parade spectators. This year in the Parade we had the LBFD CERT Team making a strong showing riding on a nicely decorated green big-rig with Christmas lights and all. The Parade finished off in the traditional fashion with Santa Claus in his sleigh on top of Fire Engine 13 saying Merry Christmas to everyone. The following weekend, the Daisy Lane Parade lights lit up the neighborhood as floats went up and down Daisy passing all of the spectators.
As a way of saying thank you, Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank once again generously offered apples to the LBFD with Fire Chief Patalano at Station 1 accepting their gift. The LBFD Kids holiday visit to Miller’s Children’s Hospital put smiles on the faces of the many children that were visited by Firefighters and Santa as they enjoyed their gifts. Wrapping up the season on Christmas and Christmas Eve, the crews from Station 13 went the extra mile to provide others with a great holiday. After a severe traffic accident on the 710 Freeway earlier this month left 4 year old Rubin Silva in the Pediatric ICU, the crew of 13A decided to make the Silva family’s Christmas a little brighter by providing toys to the kids and a holiday food basket to the family. On Christmas Day, 13C invited US Marines from Camp Pendleton to join them in a nice home-cooked holiday dinner at the Station as a way of saying thank you for their valued service. The idea came from the realization that not all soldiers get to go home for the holidays to their family. That said, the crew at Station 13 thought it would be nice to offer this as an alternative to spending Christmas alone. The crew also pooled together some money for a couple of gifts to give the soldiers as another way of saying thanks.
December 2010 marked another busy but successful holiday season despite the hardships faced by many. It is always truly amazing to see all of the toys and donations that pour into our toy warehouse each year, not to mention all of the volunteers that come down to help. It is important to remember that this would all not be possible without your kind help and generosity. That being said the LBFD would like to say thank you to everyone that made this Christmas season yet another successful one. Have a safe and Happy New Year.
Topics: Events | 26 Comments »
House Fire Erupts on 11th Street
By Steve Yamamoto | December 23, 2010
On Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 10:18 am, Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) units responded to a reported house fire at 1500 block of E. 11th Street. After a quick response by Engine 10, they discovered a single story home showing heavy fire and black smoke out of the rear bedroom and roof. Crewmembers immediately pulled a “hotline”, and charged the hose to make an aggressive interior attack on the raging fire inside. The second incoming engine pulled another hose-line to aid in the suppression while the truck company laddered the roof to vertically ventilate the home to provide safer conditions inside. Fortunately the occupants all made it out safely and there were no injuries.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by Fire Investigators and the American Red Cross was called to assist with the displaced family members. A total of six apparatus with 20 Fire Department personnel responded to this incident that took place in the 2nd Council District.
Topics: Incidents | 25 Comments »
Trapped Driver Under a Big-Rig
By Steve Yamamoto | December 16, 2010
On Friday, December 3rd, 2010 just before 12:30 PM, the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) responded to a reported Injury Traffic Accident with a trapped victim on the Southbound 605 just North of Spring Street. Engine 5 was the first arriving unit on scene and found a black sports car wedged underneath the trailer of a big-rig with the driver stuck inside of the smashed vehicle.
Miraculously the driver only sustained minor injuries that did not require transport to the hospital. However the patient was indeed trapped and required assistance from the Fire Department to get out. Luckily there were no other passengers inside the vehicle and throughout the entire operation the patient was talking with Fire Personnel. Once freed, the driver was medically evaluated and released.
This incident occurred in Council District 5 with a total of 5 apparatus and 15 personnel responding to this incident.
Topics: Incidents | 36 Comments »
Holiday LBFD Kids
By Steve Yamamoto | December 15, 2010
The holidays are here and the morning of December 15, 2010 marked another visit to Miller’s Children’s Hospital for LBFD Kids. Once again, on and off duty personnel from the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD), teamed up with Santa Claus to participate in this annual holiday visit. This year we also had Fire Chief Patalano stop by to join in the festivities at the hospital. Every year starts off with stuffing the give away bags full of holiday treats and toys then loading them into the wagons for delivery. Next, Firefighters and Santa went from room to room handing out toys and goodie bags to a great group of kids that were going through difficult times. The looks on the kid’s faces were priceless when they saw Santa Claus coming into their room to spread the holiday joy and ask what they wanted for Christmas. A total of four different hospital wings full of eager kids were visited throughout the morning. All of this could not have taken place without the help of everyone that came down, so thanks again for coming out and making this another special year.
Topics: Events | 8 Comments »
Holiday Message from Chief Patalano and the LBFD
By Admin | December 15, 2010
Topics: Public Safety, Video | 22 Comments »
