Los Angeles Fire Department

I am so impressed with the LAFD! You saved my boyfriend and his mom's condo from fire last Sunday morning and we are so grateful!

You came in suddenly, were very organized, got the flames out and then rushed off to another location down the block. Bless you all for your hard work! We will always remember you fondly!

I was very appreciative and thankful of LAFD until the time came when I actually needed their help. for those who don't know LAFD staffs the ambulances and is supposedly trained as ent. I am going to give you the full backstory: So one awful night (in 2021) I had got drugged and woke up called 911 and an ambulance full of firemen comes. barely able to stand i use all the strength in my body to make my way downstairs when they arrive. i tell them it was me who made the call and they act as if they don't believe me and continue to go up the elevator to my room. They ask if anyone else is in my apt, I respond 'No' and they say "well we have to make sure" so they go upstairs to presumably break into my apt and fact check me while I sit outside my apt building at 2am still sweating and shaking waiting for them to come back down so I can get in the ambulance. Then they announce at the top of their lungs with zero discretion in front of my very nice apt building "she overdosed on fentanyl" as I watch 2 of my neighbors come out onto their balcony's and stare at me in shock. it was horrible. The entire ride to the ambulance i can hear them laughing and cracking jokes to eachother and when I tell them my symptoms they tell me I'm wrong that this drug couldn't have made me feel that way... well I KNOW how I felt. Then when I get to the ER they come into my room not to check on me but to flirt with the nurse that is caring for me.... !! I can't even describe how unprofessional and careless they were. If they treated me as a 22 yr old girl this way I can't imagine how they'd treat homeless or addicts or anyone else that they can look down upon. The last 2 firemen that came into the room after the others had left had me sign a paper of some sort. It was the head fireman in charge along with another FD guy. These 2 men were the only two out of all 6-8 that actually cared and treated me with respect. I couldn't even go home and face my neighbors after this experience. Anyways long story short, this night completely changed my view of LAFD and I wish I hadn't made the call that night.

My friends and I were hiking at Eaton Canyon in Pasadena.
When we approached the waterfall, some lady ran to us asking for help.

My friends and I ran around the corner to see her pointing a kid about my age stuck on the side of a cliff about 30-40' up.

Another hiker, Ryan was already trying to find a way to get the kid down.
We eventually resorted to calling the park rangers.

We were told to sit tight and wait for help.

I laid down on a giant rock to get some rest.

I was half asleep when I heard falling gravel.

I opened my eyes to see the kid falling down.
He was able to grab a branch for a split second before losing his grip.
As he plummeted towards the ground, he frantically tried to grab something.

When he hit the ground, I was so shocked that it took me a few seconds to gather what had just happened.
I could see him rolling back and forth and trying to get up.

Any medical training I had kicked in.
He was moving; no major spinal/neck injuries.

I ran to him and told him to lay down and try to relax.
I scanned his body.
Broken left arm near the wrist and some bloody scrapes.

Ryan, the other hiker was next to me trying to figure out what to do.
We put a folded jacket underneath his head after making sure he didn't have a broken neck.

Immediately, Tim got out the emergency blanket from his backpack and we covered him to prepare for possible shock.
I checked his legs for breaks before slightly elevating them.

I just remember his frantic breathing and me trying to calm him down.
Ryan was the only one with signal and so he called 911 and got the fire department en route.

I stayed next to the kid, trying to take his mind off the pain and to keep him awake in case of a concussion.

He was conscious.
What's your name? Michael.
How old are you, Michael? 19.
Are you cold? No, I'm okay.

And so, we waited.
I was sitting next to his still body, telling myself that I was not ready to see someone die before my eyes...

Michael fell from the cliff around 730PM, and it was now getting dark.
My friends and I fought the shivering cold and made sure Michael stayed warm. Ryan had his kids with him and so we told him we'd stay.

The chill of the ensuing darkness was broken when the faint sounds of a helicopter filled the air.
See, Michael, help is here. I didn't think your life was worth a helicopter ride. He laughs.

Friends are signaling to the pilot with their glow sticks and flashlights, and I was looking at the helicopter when a falling rock hit me in the head.
I immediately cover Michael with my body to protect him from the falling debris caused by the whirring helicopter blades.

Michael's blanket was starting to fly away.
"Bach" I call, "cover him!"
Bach scrambles across the water to help me shield Michael.

In that moment, securing myself above Michael and being showered with rocks and pebbles, I asked myself whether or not I was willing to die to save a complete stranger...

That question repeated in my head until help had rappelled down from the copter to relieve us. Soon after, 20 firefighters came rushing from around the corner, fully geared up and carrying stretchers and medical supplies.

A fireman asks me to hold the flashlight.
There I stood as they hooked Michael up to an IV.
There I stood as they cut open his shirt to feel for broken ribs.

They strapped him to a stretcher and carried him to a clearing where he was lifted into the chopper.

The captain allowed us to wait and watch from a safe distance.

The Jon, Tim, Kha, Bach, and I stood there in the darkness, covering our eyes from the debris;
about ten seconds after the stretcher was brought into the helicopter, it started to depart.

Now that Michael was safe, my friends and I were able to hike through the pitch dark, surrounded by the firefighters.
We talked, sometimes laughed, and even took pictures.

They saved his life, and it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary.



Maybe my friends and I did help Michael make it out alive;
some would call us heroes for doing so...

...but these firefighters do such things every day,
and for that,
they have my respect and gratitude.

How can you NOT love these guys?

They put their lives in danger every day, run into some scary situations, have to deal with crazies who spit, pee, or do whatever else on/to them, AND still rescue kitties from trees!

Firemen deserve mad respect.

I was stuck in my elevator for about an hour today- the technicians did nothing for me so my building eventually called the Fire department.

They totally got me out of there. Like heros. Thank you thank you thank you! I was about to go crazy from anxiety.

Real life HEROS

I've reported 3 fires to the LAFD in my life, and the response time has always been amazingly fast. And they did an awesome job keeping the observatory from burning up.

LAFD rules.


Wait a second! Why was I at the scene of three different fires?!?!? Holy shit! The firebug was...me!!!
















Some reviews need a good twist ending.

Wow I love you guys, saving out lives with the massive fires, jst so we can go to school, most people run away from fires you guys run in, its incredible and my heart goes out to that families who lose there loved ones. RIP....


TFR

I usually would have high regard for the fire department and all the good they do. I just have had 3 poor to horrible experiences. I was heading to the top of Reseda Blvd for a hike. I pulled over because they were screaming past, I thought...Oh no a fire!! So when I get to the top of Reseda to start my hike. I see they screamed to the top of Reseda Blvd so they could hang out, smoke cigarettes and get some fresh air. I felt that it was just not a cool thing to fake an emergency!
I had a horrible tragic thing happen to one of my dogs. He was stuck and I could not get him unstuck. I called them, they came. I am just up the street from them. It took them over a half hour to get here. In that time I was able to get someone come all the way from Van Nuys to help me!!! The when the Fire department finally got here they meandered so slowly up my driveway I could not believe it. I was in a total panic. Then they didn't want to help us pick up this heavy dog to put into my truck. They said they didn't want to get blood on them! I rushed my beloved baby to the emergency. He died a few hours later. I am so upset right now I don't even want to talk about the other incident. I don't know what happened to our heroes but I found them cold uncaring and completely worthless. I will be so sad the rest of my life over this.

L.A. recently had some big scary wildfires, as we do every year during fire season. My first year in L.A. I sat glued to the TV screen for hours, watching in amazement as huge plumes of flames became airborne to overtake hundreds of acres in seemingly seconds. I remember thinking, how the hell will they ever put this out? They did. It is not easy and firefighters do risk their lives. Every year the LAFD is faced with thousands of acres of rugged terrain - on fire, raging out of control, usually coupled with strong Santa Ana winds. Often the fires are burning in multiple locations at once. And every year the firefighting efforts become more impressive. Angelinos watch in awe as these heroes operate with almost superhuman efficiency. Ground crews work in perfect unison with water-dropping helicopters. Backfires are coordinated and set in exactly the right places at the right times. I don't know how they do it. I just know that everyone says they work miracles to contain these huge fires, while simultaneously protecting lives and property, and as years pass they just get better and better. No amount of compliments seems like enough. Hats off to you, LAFD, and infinite thanks!

4 big fires here in the last week. You guys got them put out quickly. Thank you for such great hard work.