All Quiet...

...so far in this January heat wave. Record high temps expected again tomorrow, so hopefully, we'll get by without a big brusher.

Sunday Scanning

The joy of scanning SoCal is that on a random Sunday evening in January, the following things are all going on at once:

-- BHPD is running security and trying to keep the mischief down at the Beverly Hilton hotel as the Golden Globes awards are underway. They've been out there all day with set-up and celebrity arrivals, etc. etc. Right now, BHFD is responding to some manner of medical emergency on the second floor of the hotel, even as the place is locked-down tight because the awards broadcast is underway. Lots of traffic on the BHPD Tac (453.650) regarding random road closures and vehicles trying to get past checkpoints.

--On the far southwestern end of LAFD's jurisdiction they're using FIRE 4 to hoist some lady from the bottom of the cliff down in FS 48's district on the Palos Verdes Penninsula. FIRE 6 is standing watch as the observer helo.

--And way up in the Northwest Valley in Chatsworth, LAFD hit the "uh-oh" button when a Metrolink (though possibly Amtrak) train hit and killed some chick who was walking in a tunnel. She was pronounced dead on scene, but now they've got a train full of 400 folks stuck in the tunnel as they investigate and a bottleneck of delayed trains on the tracks behind them. No injuries on the train but LAFD and LAPD have formed a joint-command to try to figure out how the fuck to get the body out of the tunnel and move the trains again. It looks like the involved train is going to be stuck for at least two hours as the coroner investigates.

USAR Task Force 88 was on scene for a bit and was prepping for lighting and other USAR-type activities, but the IC just cut them loose since they didn't want all those guys tied up for so long, while everyone's standing around waiting.

New LAPD Stations Activated*

So I've been hearing the newly christened Olympic Area units being dispatched on the scanner in the past few days but haven't heard any calls go out for the new Topanga division way out in the west Valley (at the site of a former sex toy manufacturer!). But both divisions appear to be operational, Olympic being an important addition to the Mid-City area relieving some of the pressure in both the Wilshire and Rampart divisions. Olympic Area cars have the "20" prefix and the Topanga cars will have the "21" prefix.

There was a little murmur of debate a few weeks ago when the LAPD said they'd be shifting some officers from the ritzy (and relatively quiet) West LA Area to help staff up at Olympic.

*Check that. Just heard a Topanga unit get sent out on a HOTSHOT at 2252 hours. So all the new guys are now playing in the sandbox.

Full Moon Madness

I don't subscribe to many superstitions, but one that I do buy into is the nuttiness that a full moon brings. Tonight's moon is to be the biggest of the year and the scanner is bearing that out. It doesn't hurt, of course, that it was nearly 80 degrees in the L.A. today, the beginning of a warm spell.

By 2130 hours, LAFD had one good apartment burner going in South L.A., had put out dispatches for two others (one in Hollywood and another in Watts) and the LAPD was bumping with all manner of calls. Probably going to be a long night in the city.

Winds of Change

In the few sporadic years I've maintained this blog, the Santa Ana winds and the fires they spawn seem to be a recurring theme. I've posted about them here...and here.

Mostly, because they bring fire and havoc, often in January when the chilly nights (like the foggy one tonight) and the bare branches lull us into thinking we're done with fires until next summer. So let it not be a surprise when the winds come roaring from the east tomorrow afternoon and temps spike into the 80's by Sunday.

LAFD will probably go into Red Flag operations by tomorrow afternoon and we will all hold our breaths and hope nothing burns.

Photo: Just Fillmore Blog

Score One for Hip-Hop Journalism

I don't really know what the L.A. Times is becoming, which is fine since no one who works there knows what it's becoming, either. Sadly, I missed all this drama on the scanner (and would have anyway since I never listen to the LAX PD, because my tolerance for listening to the LAX cops towing cars, checking unattended luggage and resetting emergency exit alarms is surprisingly low), but sounds like there was quite a hoedown on a Delta flight into LAX this morning.

As the plane's on final approach, some asshole gets up and rushes the rear galley trying to open the door. Then he screams the B-word. Then he attacks some haughty flight attendant who is there primarily for everyone's safety. Maybe I got the order reversed, but the facts are there.

Luckily, the LA Times tells us in a blog-post (which is fast becoming their new favorite format) worthy of any fine college newspaper, that members of rap-artist Asher Roth's retinue scrambled into action. There's even a cute (blurry, natch!) citizen journo photo of some white guy who might be the suspect, but the mustachioed dude behind him is also a prime candidate even though he looks like a cop. The photo is also kindly credited to Asher's keyboardist.

For certain, this is the best thing ever to happen to the career of Asher Roth. So boo for the would-be bomber and the sillier-than-ever LA Times. Yay for proactive white rappers (and their bandmates)!

Hollywood Fatal

Re-applying myself to blogging and waiting for my 9 p.m. espresso jolt to wear off (It's 0116 hours and no luck yet) and LAFD's boys in East Hollywood catch a nasty-sounding fatal TC on the Sunset Boulevard onramp to the southbound 101 Freeway. Judging from the radio traffic on Tac-12 and the CHP CAD, it was a two-car smash up with a baby and a young female ejected and DOA. It's gonna be a long night for the CHP on the 101.

***UPDATE***

Sounds like the driver nodded off. Her car drifted right, hit the guardrail to the onramp and flipped. Killed the driver and 5-year-old in the rear seat. 11-year-old up front was only a minor injury.

Try, Try Again

The LAPD is nothing if not persistent in their efforts to clear blue names and consciences. Way back in July 2005, the Department's SWAT team engaged in a serious gunfight with a coked-up dude named Jose Raul Pena. Tragically, Pena used his 19-month-old daughter as a human shield and they both died in the gunfight.

The LA County Coroner's office ruled little Susie Pena died from a gunshot wound to the head from a high-velocity weapon, ergo a SWAT bullet. The LAPD didn't really like that decision and pretty soon the lawsuits were rolling in from the Pena family. So they seized on some shady science by a 32-year-old forensic tech that said the bullet could have come from Jose's handgun. Tons of applied pressure later from all manner of LAPD brass, and the coroner's office didn't budge.

The LA Times has the story.

EMS = Monkey

My friends and I have long used the term "monkey" as a catch-all phrase. Someone could be a monkey or an object or an idea could be monkey. Nouns and adverbs. It's interchangeable. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, religion or anything else for that matter. Everyone and everything is fair game.

For instance, that guy who thinks he's cool but takes himself way too seriously--usually a monkey. Or, the idea of buying souped-up Dodge Chargers, painting yellow and blue squares on them, adding a light bar and stenciling "PARAMEDIC" on the lower doors = MONKEY.

Of course, that didn't stop the folks down in Wake County, North Carolina, from doing just that. Many EMS departments nationwide have adopted the "first-response" type system, where they send a paramedic to the call in a non-ambulance vehicle. It's a good idea that saves time, money, resources and effort all the way around. An ALS-trained provider gets on scene first, begins providing care and can determine the most appropriate next-step for the patient without automatically tying up a transporting ambulance. This works especially well in semi-rural and rural areas where transporting EMS resources can be scarce.

Most departments that have this sort of system use an SUV or some type of truck. There's nothing wrong, of course, with using a car for this sort of response. The LAFD has its EMS supervisors in Ford Crown Victoria's. Police departments often gin up cars like this or this for publicity or other specific purposes. But Wake County's Dodge's are shining example of the high Monkey-factor tha--given the chance--EMS folks will always put on display.

photo: Courtesy of FireNews.net

Sigh...

Here I go again. Promises, promises. I don't really know why I can't keep this damn blog cranking along, but I think it's partly laziness and, well...laziness. Though I do find it onerous to link to things etc. etc.

I'll try to do better since I like writing here when I've got the energy. And I like all two of my readers.

So far, 2009 has gotten off to a quiet start all the way around. I'm still in the same place in life: on the outside of public safety (for almost six years now!), but really ready to get back in. To that end, I've been taking some tentative steps in that direction that will hopefully yield results sometime this year. My lady had me pick my rune out of a little gray pouch the other night. I picked the smooth, white stone with upward facing arrow. The rune of the Tiwaz "Spiritual Warrior." She read me my rune's meaning. Patience, a sense of self and perseverance are all attributes of the "Warrior" rune. So, it's all about patience and perseverance as I try to accomplish my goals this year.

Fire Service Day

Ooooooh weeeee! Has it really been that long since I last posted here? Shit. That's pathetic.

No time like the annual Fire Service Day here in SoCal to resume posting then, no? On this day last year I was wandering around downtown Santa Barbara, enjoying that city fire department's fine display of apparatus--including an airport crash truck. One year later and lots of life changes; so I decided to hit up a local 7-Eleven and buy a few quarts of "cream" for the boys (and girl) at my local FS 58. They were most appreciative as I spent about an hour getting my fix of LAFD Task Forces up close. Of course, I was hoping a call would drop so I could hear the computerized dispatch system up close, but no such luck. The "rider's curse" was in full effect.

Still, it was nice to hang out at a station fora little while surrounded by all that red metal. After that, headed over to Beverly Hills FD HQ, where there were about 600 little kids scattered all over the station and in front on Rexford Drive. Took a quick spin through the station (spent a lot more time there last year) and saw them giving rides to kiddies on BH's sick USAR rig.

Hope to be back on here more often than I've been this year. But, I've said that a few times before, too.

Must Be...

...the end of the month. BHPD was out in force today on traffic citation detail. They were even checking maximum operating weights on random commercial vehicles they spotted throughout the city. Heard lots of cites being dished out and one dude got popped this morning for misdemeanor dope possession. Fill those coffer$ boys.

Monte Carlo Miracle

My man DK v.1 mentioned this and so I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents on last Friday's fire at the Monte Carlo in Vegas. When a friend emailed me with the news and told me to turn on CNN, the first images that reached mine eyes were two large, black loom-ups hundreds of yards apart at the top of the building.

These columns of smoke were being fed by columns of bright orange fire, not a grey wisp of smoke in sight. Grey smoke = water on the fire. So, I immediately thought back to the MGM Grand and other disasters of the 1970s and 80s. Since the fire was clearly and quickly only burning the facade and rooms at the top of the hotel, I actually thought egress and evacuation wouldn't be a problem. It was mid-morning, off-peak in Vegas, so I didn't forsee hundreds of trapped folks like big Vegas fires of yore.

I did, however, expect the hotel-casino to burn intensely for many hours and the property to be seriously damaged. Therefore, I was duly impressed by the performance of the Clark County Fire Department that morning. They got lots of resources to the scene and up 32 flights of stairs to the roof extremely expeditiously.

When they had the fire darkened down in the better part of 45 minutes, I was even more surprised. Clearly, Las Vegas' stunningly rapid growth--and the concurrent growth of its county fire department--allowed for more fire suppression resources to be available than in years past.

When I was in paramedic school many years ago we lost a classmate after the second week to the literal siren's call of the CCFD. I assume, if he made it out of his probie year that he is at least an engineer there by now, if not a captain.

Anyway, good on the CCFD.

p.s. Their Web site is pretty slick, including an open incident CAD (cough, cough).

More Rain?

Hard to believe with the crystal clear blue skies above that another Pacific storm is heading our way. This one is allegedly coming from the southwest and pulling up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

Surprisingly, though it's been a few years since we've had rains like this, the L.A. basin has remained mostly intact. The mountains have been hammered with snow and Santa Barbara and Ventura counties have gotten big rains, but no dramatic rescues from the Sepulveda Basin yet by the LAFD.

Maybe tonight's the night all the burn areas and Griffith Park finally give way. Let's hope not (also let's hope my house doesn't float away...so far the new drains work beautifully!).

Another Reason...

...to love Los Angeles County. Just a few months ago, firefighters from LACoFD were battling major brush fires in a variety of locales. Yesterday, the County's Urban Search & Rescue rig (pictured above) was up in Wrightwood, deep in the snow searching for Southern California avalanche victims.

It's an only in L.A. public safety moment.

photo: Irfan Khan/LA Times

New Year, Same Blog

Back in business after losing my momentum over the holidays. But it's been a busy month or so in SoCal Scannerland...fires, rains, mudslides, lots of good PD action; the whole shebang, as it were.

A few odds and ends:

--I have two good friends with the initials D.K. One's a frequent commenter on C6C and makes his current home in Hawaii. The D.K. and I go back about 10 years to our days in paramedic school. Saw him tonight for the first time in a few years and it was great to catch up. He gave me a good refresher on where some of the more "interesting" characters from my time up in NorCal ended up. Let me just say there weren't many surprises.

--This is a few months old, but was cruising by the semi-annual Beverly Hills art fair and saw a few BHPD officers cruising the park on Segways. Yikes.

More To Follow...

Shift Stuff

I just finished browsing the UFLAC's proposal on the 48/96 shift schedule. My big takeaway: they use lots of primary colors and childrens' book fonts in the report.

Not too many years ago, I was employed at very busy public safety agency where I drove big trucks with flashing lights and two (!!!) sirens required at all times during Code 3 operations.

This particular agency operated on a 24/48 shift schedule. One day on, two days off. Year-round, every year. On paper, it wasn't such a bad schedule. Bust your ass all day and all night at a busy house and get two days off as reward--one day to recover, one day to enjoy. At a quiet house, you'd run a few calls, sleep all night and go home relaxed and refreshed. If you wanted to take five days off, you simply had to burn one vacation day--10 days off and it was only two vacation days. Better yet, find a trade and burn no vacation days.

Sadly, life isn't lived on paper. The biggest drawback of the 24/48 was the overtime issue. At the time, this particular agency had a constant staffing shortage. There was a mandatory overtime list everyday that was eight people deep. On average, you were on the list twice a month. The theory went that one time you'd be near the top and the second time you were supposed to be farther down. Generally, the list didn't go much past poor bastard three or four, though some days it went way deep. It was pretty much a given that if you were number one or two on the list, you'd for sure get hit for overtime the next day.

Suddenly, your 24/48 would turn into a 48/24. Technically, if you were at a busy house the day before you got hit for overtime, then you were supposed to be sent to a quiet house if your number was called and vice versa. However, people generally didn't call in sick or take vacation days at the quiet houses--but they would suddenly be stricken by middle of the night ailments just hours before they were scheduled to report for a 7 a.m. shift at a busy city station. So, more often than not, you filled the holes where they opened.

You had a little more control when you made a trade, since you generally knew where the other person worked and agreed to it beforehand. But the deal with the devil on trades was that you'd get a free five-day but end up having to repay it with a 48/24. That, of course, was tacked on to your two or three days of potential forced overtime each month. So, in any given 10 day per month work cycle--you could do at least two 48s if you got hit for OT, or more if you had to repay a trade or for whatever reason volunteered for an extra shift.

Long story short, the money was good, the exhaustion, not so much. I never fell asleep at the wheel while driving, or had a major screw-up on the job (that I remember; I was too tired most of the time to recall much of what happened after about 10 p.m. on the back half of a 48). I did, however, sleep through a few loud tones going off and fluorescent lights going on, sleepwalked through the fire station and fell asleep on the steering wheel waiting for my partner to drag his or her ass out of bed. There were plenty of drives that I just plain don't remember and more than a few pissy words exchanged with the general public who had utilized 911 and expected a fresh-faced sympathetic responder to show up at 3 a.m. to deal with whatever they needed.

(Sidebar, but important:Even if I did remember any major fuckups on the "important" parts of my job, why the hell would I ever admit them? I mean, I could blame it on the 48 and lack of sleep and all that, but still, where's the incentive to admit mistakes of major consequence--other than a solid moral compass, of course.)

Instead, they got an asshole who'd been on duty for going on two days and had been running calls that whole time. Now, the LAFD has more than 104 stations and a goodly number of those run only a few calls a day--some only a few calls a week (FS 23, FS 40, FS 8, FS 69, FS108, cough cough). But it only takes one exhausted paramedic, Engineer or A/O to fuck up big time. Granted, many LAFDer's already work 48s and 72s on trades, etc., something that can be just as dangerous. But to make every front line employee work a 48 isn't good business. Some folks just aren't made for it. Mental acuity, reflexes, judgment, decision making skills--they all fade rapidly when start to hit that wall in the middle of a busy 48. What if all of above are in short supply with some guys (and gals) to begin with? What if you're riding a busy 800 RA's and (even scarier) the guys on the busy paramedic RA's, say nothing of engineers or A/Os driving the heavy stuff "Emergency" all over town?

It's one thing for a slower department like Beverly Hills or El Segundo to go on a 48/96, but the LAFD?

And institutionalizing a system that puts anyone on overtime automatically on a 72 isn't a great idea. Despite assurances that systems will be in place to rotate folks from busy houses to quiet ones, etc. etc., the reality is that staffing demands rule the day. Fill the holes with warm bodies.

My previous employer only started to learn the hard way when a guy driving a big old Freightliner ambulance at 7 a.m. (on the tail end of a 48) flipped the truck on the freeway when he fell asleep. Wasn't a great experience for his partner or patient in the back.

The Problem...

...with a blog, my friends, is that one must actually update it once in awhile to remain current. Clearly, I stumbled through October and skipped November entirely. That's not to say that public safety took a break during the same time.

I'll be back with some fresh stuff again this week, aiming for a strong 2007 finish.

Let me just say this: I heard from a birdie that the LAFD union membership is strongly considering a schedule change from the current 3-4 Kelly shift to a 48-96 (two days on, four days off). Here's the union puffery on the issue. Generally, I'm unilaterally against this kind of schedule, but I haven't totally read through the issue.

Once I do, I'll elaborate on it when I've got more time.

Hot Time in the Old Towns...

Wow.

Best picture of firefighters being over-run that you'll ever done see. (They all made it out alive and unhurt)

I was in the midst of a long and winding post last night, and then sort of ran out of steam. There's so much fire and so much scanner activity, it's just been very hard to keep up, though I've been listening almost nonstop for the last two days.

All of the usual outlets have good coverage so I point you in those directions. I'll surely post something more coherent and thoughtful when the situation has calmed and I have time to put some energy into a real post. Also, don't overlook San Diego; that's where the real tragedy is unfolding (again).

p.s. What's crazy is that since Sunday morning, the wind has been negligible in the greater L.A. Basin. Not a wisp of wind in the last 36 hours in the Beverly Hills and West LA area.


photo: Karen Tapia-Anderson, LA Times

Malibu is About to Burn

For those of you into the Scanning Arts, tuning into 470.6125--LACoFD's "Blue 3" channel--will afford you a front row seat to the County FD losing the early battle against today's brusher in Malibu.

A new spot fire at Civic Center Drive and Winter Canyon Road sees only two Engines (570, 566) on scene, with fire around residences and a school building. Three buildings are now well involved.

Now there's another spot on PCH that just jumped the road. With LAFD tied up in Porter Ranch and the rest of the city holding its collective breath amid the dry brush, it sounds like the County hasn't gotten enough resources out to Malibu fast enough.