A small unit of volunteers helped fight Malibu’s Franklin Fire, here’s how they did it

The night the Franklin Fire broke out in Malibu, Keegan Gibbs couldn't sleep.

The Santa Ana winds and dry conditions had created perfect fire weather, and Gibbs knew it was just a matter of time until a blaze broke out.

Just a couple hours later, he was outside the Ralph's on Pacific Coast Highway in the middle of the night. He and other members of the recently launched community fire brigade were waiting for instructions on how they could help fight the growing Franklin Fire burning near Malibu Canyon Road.

At first, that meant helping people evacuate from the Serra Retreat neighborhood. Then, it was helping to put out spot fires — smaller blazes sparked from embers from the main fire that can take homes down.

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"Often that's how houses are lost," said Cal State Long Beach professor Steven Jensen, who has studied the response to the Woolsey Fire. "But with a small brigade like this, [they] can go and…put out those embers before they have a chance to catch hold."

How were they deployed?

It's the second time the group of volunteers has been deployed to help the L.A. County Fire Department. The Franklin Fire reached 100% containment this week, with 20 structures destroyed and 28 damaged. Around 40 members of the brigade were part of the response.

Both the fire department and members of the community brigade agreed their collaboration was a success.

" It is going fantastic," said Drew Smith, an assistant chief with the fire department. " How we're working together has really enhanced and fostered a greater relationship to the community."

Members of the community fire brigade were deployed to help respond to the Franklin Fire in Malibu.

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LA County Fire Department Community Brigade

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How the brigade began

The beginnings of the community brigade program were formed in a more tenuous moment between the community and the Los Angeles Fire Department. When the deadly Woolsey Fire burned through L.A. and Ventura counties in 2018, firefighting resources were overwhelmed. As the Camp Fire burned simultaneously in Northern California, only half of the requested firefighting resources were sent to Woolsey.

" I think everybody had misperceptions that…'Why didn't I see a fire truck in my driveway' or 'Why wasn't X, Y, and Z happening?'" said Gibbs, whose parents' home in Point Dume burned down in the fire. "And that's based on that misperception that the professional first response resources can be there every time. When the reality is they just can't, especially at that scale."

After the dust settled from Woolsey, community members set about forming their own groups to fight fires, but those weren't in coordination with L.A. County Fire. This pilot program is.

" Following that fire it became apparent that we needed to find a better way to engage the resources and capabilities of the community," said Brent Woodworth, chairman of the L.A. Emergency Preparedness Foundation, which oversees the community brigade program.

Who is in the brigade?

Members of the community brigade include a superior court judge, a one-time contender in the World's Strongest Man competition and former firefighters, according to Woodworth.

Together, they hope to empower other community members to learn more about living in a fire-prone landscape, and how to be prepared before the next big fire arrives.

" This program does not exist just to create a force of people to save structures. This program does not exist to create heroes in the community," Gibbs said. "This program exists to help inspire community members to take ownership of their risk, full stop."

People interested in joining can find resources here.