Results tagged “firedepartment”

One year ago this Thursday, the Freeway Complex fire broke out. The 30,305-acre fire destroyed 314 homes. Two years ago this past Sunday, the Santiago Fire ignited, eventually burning through 28,517 acres and destroying 14 homes.

Los Angeles just got a new fire chief and Long Beach is about to lose theirs. Fire Chief David Ellis announced yesterday, after five years at the top post, his intent to retire by the end of the year. Ellis began his career in Glendale in 1980, but two years later found himself working for Long Beach, where he was raised and schooled as a kid and college student. The Department has about 550 employees and a $90 million budget, a small portion of which that is spent on a blog, likely inspired by LAFD's).

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa later today intends to nominate Battalion Chief Millage Peaks to head the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to sources close to the department speaking under the condition of anonymity. Peaks, a 33-year veteran of the department will replace Chief Barry Douglas, who will retire this weekend. Currently the Chief of Battalion 4 (LAX, Venice and other Pacific coast and inland neighborhoods), Peaks joined the department in 1976 and was promoted to be a captain in 1984. Eight years later, he became a Battalion Chief in South L.A.

Talk about timing, whether planned or not. An 11:30 p.m. e-mail from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office says he will announce his nomination of a new fire chief tomorrow at 11 a.m. After 34 years--two and a half as Chief--Douglas Barry last Spring announced his retirement, taking affect on August 30th. "We have brought about a unity of purpose and have moved our Department to even higher levels of professionalism both operationally and in our work environment," he said his statement in May. "We have made great strides in strengthening our future leaders by giving them the tools they need to be successful." The nominated chief must be confirmed by city council before he or she can officially take command.

Some fire companies were closed Sunday indefinitely, but a rotating set of closures scheduled for tomorrow will lessen the number of ambulances and rescue trucks on Los Angeles city streets tomorrow as a money saving move amid the city's budget crisis.

    

Instead of being scrapped, one of the train cars involved in the 2005 Metrolink crash that killed 11 people was donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department for training purposes. As evident by these photos from LAist Featured Photos contributor OxDx (also of LA Taco), it's not a high security area. A crew hit the train, but also someone with more... political inclinations of sorts.

       

At least 100 homes have been destroyed and 13 people have been injured in the blaze that began yesterday shortly before 6 p.m. in Montecito near Santa Barbara. At least two buildings at Westmont College were lost as well as many million dollar homes--"the Montecito Zip Code the seventh-highest-priced in the U.S., and the median price of a home is $2.9 million," reports Forbes via the LA Times. Officials have asked nearby residents who were not evacuated were asked to curb water use to nearly zero due to the low water levels in reservoirs that water dropping planes are using. 14,000 people from 5,400 homes were evacuated and Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for the conflagration. 2,000-2,500 acres have burned.

"A brushfire is burning in the hills above Santa Barbara and Montecito. The fire broke out just before 6 p.m," reports KEYT3. As of 6:32 p.m., the fire had burned 7-10 acres with "structures are threatened. Santa Barbara City Fire Department has ordered evacuations for residents living north of Mountain Dr and Cold Springs."

       

For over seven hours, firefighters fought the 100-acre Sepulveda Pass Fire along the 405 Freeway. It started before 1:00 a.m. and resources were quickly, smartly and aggressively deployed to knockdown the fire after 8:00 a.m. as Los Angeles started its Thursday workday. Here's a little of what it look like early this morning:

Turn to page 56 in the just-released issue of Wired Magazine (Nov., 2008) and you'll see kind face (usually smiling if you meet him in person) of Brian Humphrey at the Los Angeles Fire Department. The one-page blurb talks about the department's tech initiatives such as the much talked about LAFD Twitter, but also some technologies Humphrey is currently working on. For example, at some point, you may be able to type in your home address and get a text alert when it's on fire (eek!). LAist interviewed Humphrey last year about the use of social networking and emergencies. ALSO: Both USA Today and Daily News penned articles about the LAFD's widgets.

Originally scheduled to end tonight, the Los Angeles Fire Department extended red flag parking restrictions through 8:00 a.m., Wednesday morning, or until further notice. If you're not sure you live or park within a red flag parking zone (photo of sign), check the info page or call 3-1-1. Red flag parking was established to clear narrow hillside streets where fire trucks have difficulty maneuvering. Separate from red flag parking, a red flag warning established by the National Weather Service, is in effect until Wednesday evening at 10:00 p.m.

Tomorrow, the fire department, Councilmember Bill Rosendahl and community members will honor Lovrien with a dedication of a bronze plaque (as seen above) at the site of the explosion. Rosendahl's office was kind enough to share with us a photo of that plaque that will soon be found on Sepulveda.

Now this is probably one of the coolest success stories of government communicating with the public efficiently. LA Fire Department Spokesman Brian Humphrey writes at their blog about overhearing a Starbucks Barista using Twitter to find out what passing fire trucks are up to:

The LAPD already has one, created by voters in 1995. Now two City Councilman, Jose Huizar and Jack Weiss, are proposing to put the option before voters on the March 2009 ballot. "The independent assessor will ensure that the reforms Chief (Douglas) Barry is trying to implement are strictly adhered to and to inform the public if they're not," said Huizar, per the Daily News. The reforms they're talking about relate to "a culture of hazing and inappropriate behavior toward women and minorities" in the department with the Tennie Pierce dog food controversy highlighting said culture.

The LA Fire Department has announced what could be the cause of this morning's fire in Mar Vista that left one woman dead. It "appears to be 'accidental, most probably related to candles,' wrote LAFD spokesman Ron Myers in an alert. The fire at 3448 Colonial Ave. near the intersection of Centinela Ave. and Palms Blvd. began around 5:30 a.m. and took 25 firefighters to knock it down in 20 minutes.

  

Yes, he is. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call that someone was in the riverbed at Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Valleyheart Dr; (just north of Ventura) in Studio City. An LAist reader sent in these photos saying he was either pushed or that he jumped and that it didn't look like he made it.

Just after 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported "a small fire in Griffith Park." A knockdown was called at 2:56 p.m., according to LAFD Spokesperson d'Lisa Davies over the phone, but she did not know the acreage of the fire yet. There are also some unconfirmed reports of a possible suspect in custody, but those are just rumors at the moment. This is the fourth time a fire or fires has occurred to the park since July 27th. Last weekend, seven small fires went ablaze and arson is suspected.

Someone called the fire department late this morning saying they saw a plume of smoke rising from Griffith Park. The Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched a helicopter, but found nothing. "When our aerial recon took an aerial view, they saw nothing," d'Lisa Davies, LAFD spokeswoman, said over the phone.

Councilman Tom LaBonge, who represents the district that has Griffith Park within it, is meeting up with residents and hikers in two meetings tonight to discuss the seven fires that were lit at the park this past weekend. Arson is suspected.

The multiple fires at Griffith Park were 100% contained at 7 PM last night, according to an alert sent out by the Los Angeles Fire Department this morning. A total of five fires on the northern side of the park began within two hours of each other yesterday afternoon burning approximately 50 acres. Arson is suspected. One firefighter was hospitalized with non-life-threatening facial injuries after being struck with hose fittings whe battling a fire.

Reported at 2:27 p.m. this afternoon, a grass and brush fire of about 2-3 acres in size has been reported south of the Mineral Wells Trail in the northern part of Griffith Park. Los Angeles Spokesman Brian Humphrey reports that 100 firefighters have reported to the scene and there have been no injuries, no structures threatened and no formal evacuations ordered, as of 2:54 p.m. The last fire at the park was on Sunday, July 27, 2008, which was located not too far from today's blaze. UPDATE: The fire was knocked down shortly after 3:45 p.m. and stayed confined to 3 acres, according to an update alert from the LAFD.

On Tuesday, a few hours after the earthquake, the Los Angeles Fire Department put up a link on the "Highlights" section on the homepage of the city's website, pointing to their Earthquake and Disaster Preparedness Manual (.pdf)--a smart move since right after an earthquake is the best time to educate people on preparing for a future and considerably worse one (Tuesday's quake was only considered "moderate").

A five acre brush fire broke out near Travel Town and the LA Zoo this afternoon around 12:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. 32 LAFD fire companies reported to the scene with help from LA County, Burbank and Glendale fire departments totaling approximately 200 firefighters on the ground. As of 2:00 p.m. no injuries, evacuations or damaged structures were reported and a knockdown had not been declared yet. "It's not progressing in a way that's it's blowing through the brush," LAFD Spokesperson Ron Myers told LAist on the phone. He said they are making progress on perimeter control.

     

Reports are coming in about firs in the Los Angeles area. At about 3:30, a fire broke out at mobile home near a state park in Malibu Creek State Park. While the home fire was knocked down, the fire has spread to hillside brush and has at least burned through 10 acres. Park visitors have been evacuated. Update: As of 6:43 p.m., the fire had burned 20 acres and was at 90% containment. "Hopefully within an hour we'll have full containment," Inspector Sam Padilla with LA County fire told LAist.

This morning's greater alarm structure fire in Hyde Park was knocked down after one hour and twenty-two minutes with over 100 firefighters responding to the scene.

Just a few blocks away from last week's massively big fire that nearly leveled a city block at Gage and Gramercy in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South LA comes another fire this morning at 2327 Southwest Drive that was called in at 10:38 a.m. this morning (map below).

     

After all was said and done, yesterday morning's fire in Hollywood severely damaged Basque nightclub and the Blood Shot tattoo parlor. Two other adjacent occupancies of the building sustained moderate damage -- Sandee's shoe repair and the San Miguel Spa and Salon. Of the 180 firefighters who reported to the 5:31 a.m. fire, there were no injuries.

After just under two and one half hours, the fire at Basque nightclub was knocked down by the Los Angeles Fire Department, save for one flare up on a rooftop hotspot fifteen minutes later. At 5:31 a.m. this morning, a 9-1-1 phone call alerted officials to a fire at the building located on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine, which has housed many tenants in the past including a radio station, restaurants, Deep and now Basque. The opening scene of Ocean's Eleven was filmed here.

Update: The fire has been knocked down. Read the update here.