Stolen LAFD Ambulance!**

So someone made off with an LAFD RA from good old Queen of Angels, Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital around 3:45 this afternoon. It's 5:11 and they're still looking for it. I'll recap this when more info comes down the pike!

***UPDATE*** Per a wire story, the stolen ambulance was spotted going northbound on the 101 Freeway in SAN LUIS OBISPO (about 200 miles northwest of LA!!!!!) at about 8 p.m.; five hours after being taken from outside the ER in Hollywood. The CHP managed to use spike strips to stop the rig outside of Paso Robles and arrested the driver.

That's all the info I've got now. Can't wait to hear which RA unit got nabbed.

***UPDATE 2*** Per a kind commenter via ABC7 News, it was RA 27....a dear old friend of mine back in the day.

photo: via Code2High.com

The End of Tennie?

So, Mayor Tony V. the other day signed off on the latest settlement of "victimized" LAFD firefighter Tennie Pierce. I mentioned his case way back in March on this blog. The original $2.7 million settlement was vetoed by the mayor after it was approved by the City Council last fall.

So it looked like all of the messy details (especially those involving Pierce's own behavior) were going to be on full display at trial. Alas, no. Among the media coverage of the new settlement was a very thoughtful piece by columnist Sandy Banks in the LA Times. With the exception of Steve Lopez, I usually approach the LAT's columnists with great disdain (Joel Stein, anyone? Anyone?), but Ms. Banks surprised me in a good way. It makes for good reading and it's a window into Douglas Barry, the now permanent LAFD Chief.

Long Live COPS

I've been a fan of COPS since its debut 20 years ago (and CHiPs, TJ Hooker and Adam 12) before that. Hard to believe it's been on TV for so long, especially in this age of the fickle TV viewer. But in the same way the New York Times wedding announcements are a work in voyeuristic sociology, so too are the 30 minute windows into ordinary people dealing with law enforcement all across the country.

I've gone my fair share of stretches without tuning in, but have recently been putting my DVR to good use taping episodes again. As for me, I hope for another 20 years...and 60 more of reruns on CourtTv!

Talk About The Dog Days....

Something about the record heat and humidity we had here a week or so ago has kept me from the blog...just couldn't muster the energy. Did a bit of scanning over the last two weeks. Nothing too exciting except for some amusement two nights ago in Beverly Hills.

Nearly all of the on-duty patrol units get sent to a house way up near the BH city limit, off Coldwater Canyon Drive. Responding to their equivalent of a "hot prowl," where the caller reported a white male trying to break into her house. As units were hauling ass to get up there, more information came in--now, the suspect hadn't tried to break in per se, more like the woman saw him outside. She got scared. She screamed. He got scared. He ran away.

Units got on scene and it only took about eight minutes to realize the man had been making the first delivery of the family's "nutri-fit" food service. The lady of the house wasn't expecting the drop-off at 11 p.m. Classic.

# # #

Gave Sept. 11 a few minutes of thought yesterday. Hard to believe it's been six years. Back then, I was in public safety full-time and watched the Towers fall on TV before heading into work for about 48 very tense hours. Seems like a lifetime ago.

Help Calls

Two good LAPD "help" calls in as many days. First one went down late last night in Southwest when a two-man car had multiple suspects and at least one gun behind an apartment building. A few hairy minutes while the backup units got on scene, and the air unit did a nice job of calling the action from above and directing the patrol units into the scene. Suspects arrested, gun recovered.

Second one hit around 9 this evening in 77th Division. Didn't hear what precipitated it, but it was a scramble as units got on scene down in South-Central, and were still breathlessly calling for more help. The zone was quickly flooded and everyone taken into custody.

Must be a summer night.

Hurricane Dean???

Pretty wild that a storm that formed more than a week ago thousands of miles to the southeast--somewhere over the mid-Atlantic, in fact--could eventually pass over SoCal! That's what happened this weekend with the atypical high humidity, tropical clouds and rain, wind and hail. Just our little taste of the wild summer weather the rest of the nation seems to be experiencing.

The Hideous, Hideous Future

This, my friends, is the new ass of the LAFD. Thanks to John Gregory for the shot (outside of the new LAFD FS5 in Westchester). These day-glo yellow chevrons are apparently becoming standard fare on emergency rigs across the U.S. A couple of Federal agencies have decided that bright yellow arrows will increase safety for the public safety crews, so these things are becoming mandatory.

Too bad that conventional wisdom--and the experience of thousands of public safety pros--will tell you that DUI drivers, and, idiots operating motor vehicles in general, already swerve towards the bright, blinking lights of emergency vehicles parked on scene. To me, this seems like a giant arrow directing some drunk asshole right into the back of my shiny new RA. Leave it to the think-tank feds to come up with this idiotic scheme. And it's ugly as sin.

More Kudos...

...for the Blog of LAFD Batt. 14! Way back in January I plugged this blog. Just checked it out again today and it's really chugging along. Some good info both for folks in the Department (and the Battalion) but also for the general public. It really peels back the layers of the happenings in the North Hollywood area and gives a good glimpse into the day-to-day out there. If the 17 other battalions in the LAFD followed suit--over-lorded by Mr. Humphrey--that would be a truly glorious public service.

Have Leopard....No Clothes

In any other city but this one, built upon a queen of angels, a story like THIS would have been front page news for at least a week....but nary a peep out of the L.A. Times, of course (even the usually reliable City News Service, with its often patently ridiculous stories, didn't chime in). Defamer, posted it a few days ago and has some great on-scene photo action of a naked man walking down Melrose Avenue with a live leopard draped over his shoulders.

Let's put aside any sort of an explanation from the man as to why he was walking nude with a leopard: a funny story on its own would be the tale of the two poor-bastard A-unit LAPD Hollywood patrol officers dispatched to the call. I'm sure the story is already legendary at Hollywood Station.

WeHo Fire...

Don't have any good pics to share on this one, but that probably means I'm not looking hard enough (There is an embedded video on KABC's site. I noticed the smoke from the Micky's gay bar fire about right as the call was going out over LACoFD's Blue 8. Classic clusterfuck on the County's part, but only because of the horrible geographic island that West Hollywood sits on.

The two WeHo stations were quickly committed and LAFD E41 made a fast appearance on scene, along with BHFD E1, E3, T4 and Batt. 1. LACoFD moved units in from Inglewood and Baldwin Hills and East LA, I believe. I craned my neck out of my office window just in time to see an LACoFD engine (171's?) moving Code 3 up San Vicente Boulevard. It gave me the first glimpse of the County's new fluorescent yellow chevrons on the back of the Engine. Ugh.

They got the fire knocked down in a reasonable amount of time, but the highlight of the radio traffic was hearing BHFD's Assistant Chief and the on-duty Batt. 1 BC bitching at each other about the city's resources being used at the WeHo fire. So, eager Batt. 1 rightly committed his three BHFD resources (including the city's only Aerial truck) to mutual aid on this ripping commercial structure. The AC got on the radio and asked when the BH resources were going to be available and was super pissed when the BC told him they were all working the fire, leaving only two engines (E2 and E5) and both BHFD RA's (RA1 and RA2) available for the whole city.

Folks, 1.) this is more fire than BHFD has seen all year so the lucky on-duty crews at Engines 1 and 3 and Truck 4 were totally psyched to be catching some fire after spending most of their days picking old people up from various positions on the floor. 2.) That's what "mutual aid" means--it doesn't mean send your shiny, expensive and almost brand-new fire engines to the scene of a commercial structure with limited County resources available and have them sit at staging. 3.) The city of BH was not going to burn down and if it did, LAFD can throw at least two task forces and three engines that basically border the city at any big fire that came down the wire (especially since BHFD screams for LAFD task forces on big fires anyway).

There was also a big brusher going on out in Hacienda Heights at the same time, so the LACoFD radio traffic was a bit confusing and hectic.

Good times.

Catching Up...

Apologies for my absence. Just a few tidbits, most recent at the top:

--Caught the tail end of the LAX Customs computer meltdown last Saturday night. Got home in time to hear the LAFD medical strike teams in effect at Tom Bradley Intl. terminal. Sounds like they'd been at it for a few hours, and some of the medics were getting quite edgy with the EMS captains who were dispatching them to EMS calls through the throngs of thousands gathered at the airport. LAFD command broke the incident down around 2 a.m., but still managed to hear an LAFD unit (RA 51 or E51, I think) crash into an airport shuttle bus on their way off the airfield.

--Finally laid mine eyes upon the new BHFD Rescues, as one of my faithful readers alerted me to their presence a few weeks ago. Here's why I probably never noticed them before: Because they are the SAME UGLY TRIANGULAR MODS that BHFD seems to be in love with (the link shows the old BHFD rescue units, but it's the same design on the new ones).

This, my friends, is what a brand new Freightliner ambulance should look like. That's a beautiful brand new rig proudly serving the residents and tourists of Las Vegas's Clark County, Nev. Notice the nice rectangular box sitting behind the cab! Not some ridiculous polygonal shape that just looks like it belongs at some crappy vollie rescue squad somewhere. The LED light package is nice and all, but seriously BH; Nut up and get a REAL big, badass, rescue next time. I know you're not hurting for the funds.

--Saw a nice grey Acura TL shear off a hydrant on Beverly Drive in the middle of mansion-ville in BH a few weekends back. Eerie, in that a geyser of water was shooting straight up and the driver was stil behind the wheel, shaken from the deployed air bag. Took a few minutes, but since it was a quiet Sunday night, the cavalry arrived in the form of four BHPD units rolling Code 3, followed by Engine 2 and Rescue 1. Didn't stick around after that.

-- Had a nice little earthquake at 1 a.m. a few weeks ago. Was scanning at the time. LACoFD went into "Earthquake Mode" and started a station recall over the LA. In the City, Battalion 14 came up on the air asking OCD if "we're going into earthquake mode?" OCD clearly didn't know anything about no quake (in their defense, they're a few stories underground encased in a re-inforced concrete bunker) and told Batt. 14 there would be no earthquake activation. That caught the BC by surprise since the quake was centered NNW of Chatsworth, which is most certainly LAFD territory.

-- Heard the LAPD "Help Call" go down in Hollenbeck a few weeks ago. Turns out, suspect got shot and killed after he started choking the female part of the patrol duo. Was a domestic violence suspect who returned to the scene of the crime. I heard the help call broadcast, then a Code 4 a few minutes later. Then heard the LAFD get the shooting call. No other radio traffic in the clear.

Nothing doing...

With me or much on the scanner the past week or so. Heard a high volume of serious traffic accidents in the Valley on Saturday night, but not much else. Hope to get back into the swing of things this week. LAPD's clearly had some good calls, judging by the newspaper reports of shootings and the such, but I've missed them.

I'm just glad I wasn't on duty in Minneapolis last week. That's one of those calls that comes down over the loudspeakers and you immediately think is a prank. Until you're on scene and it's just the most surreal experience of your life. I had one of those in Central Texas a few years back. No bridge collapse, just a structure fire with lots of dead kids.

On that note, happy August! My site traffic, while pathetically small, is creeping up just a bit every week thanks to referrals and some fortunate links on sites like EMTBravowest.com

Fire and Politics

So there was a ripping Major Emergency Structure Fire in the Jefferson Park area on Tuesday night (7/24). Cheyane Caldwell, the A/O of Truck 26 fell through the roof while doing truck work on the vacant building. Luckily, he was quickly rescued by fellow firefighters. The roof was cleared and the firefighters then went defensive.

Caldwell was initially transported to Cedars and then moved to the burn unit down in Torrance, according to a fairly comprehensive post on the LAFD Blog by Pat Marek--a new name in the spokesman world of the LAFD. (Might mean that longtime PSO Ron Meyers is retiring as d'Lisa Davies recently replaced longtime fixture Jim Wells on the "C" shift. Of course "B" Shift stalwart and star blogger Brian Humphrey ain't goin nowhere!).

Anyway, there are some really high quality pictures taken on scene of the West Adams Boulevard fire by John Conkle hosted over on the LAFD Flickr site.

So I wasn't that surprised when I checked the LAFD blog this morning to see Humphrey's open letter to the California Parole Board asking that they deny release of one Mario Catanio who set the fire that killed another Apparatus Operator who fell through the roof in during a North Hollywood blaze in 1981.

First time I've seen Humphrey (presumably with the full blessing of Department brass) take such a public stance on an issue such as this. Usually, Public Information-y things like "change the smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks" or "Don't play with fireworks," are the message of the day on the Blog.

My brain's a little fried right now, so I don't know what the greater significance of Humphrey's post today means, if there's greater significance at all. Clearly, the close call experienced by A/O Caldwell two days ago brought the issue to the fore today.

Close But...

...no Greater Alarm. LAFD Rescue 827 rolled up to the rear of the CBS studios and called in some fire showing from the rear on the second floor. OCD filled out the assignment and once Batt. 5 got on scene he reported heavy fire venting from the rear of the complex at the crowded Hollywood intersection of Sunset Boulevard and El Centro Avenue.

Batt. 5 pushed the "Greater Alarm" button and OCD sent a nice big assignment with USAR rigs, and plenty of Light Forces, including LF89 all the way from North Hollywood, and Task Force 3 from its quarters Downtown! Sounded like it was shaping up to be a gnarly Major Emergency, that I would have caught from the very, very beginning!!! A true rarity these days.

Alas, it was not to be. Batt. 5 quickly tucked his tail between his legs and told OCD that it was an exterior fire only and it was knocked down. Boooooo! Station 27 and 82 handled the overhaul. Everyone else went home.

LAFD Station 36

I must be a tad slow on my LAFD station updates but the new Station 36 appears to have finally opened down in San Pedro on July 8. Just heard them on the scanner going available from some EMS call.

Take a look at the pic...looks like a classic "retirement house" to me...not a rookie in the bunch. Also notice the classic 1990 vintage Seagrave holding down 36's fort. Quiet enough house that they're probably way down on the list for a new rig. What's funny is that I'm sure they were on tonight's shooting down in Pedro, but I didn't hear them go out because I was locked in on the LAPD Harbor frequency.

What I did hear about two minutes ago was Rescue 112 telling OCD that 36's was closer on a call they got dispatched on. One of the familiar female voices working OCD 4 tonight came back and told the medic on 112's that "the computer still says we should send 112 to this call." Medic's reply: "We're enroute." Old habits die hard, boys.

Nothing like hoping to get out of a Sunday night call by trying to beat the system and sacrifice the "new" boys on the block. My advice to the boys on Rescue 112: For every call you're on, there are two others that they can't dispatch you to.

Overheard...

Couple a' interesting calls on a muggy (for L.A., at least) Sunday night:

-- LAPD Wilshire units sent for a man-with-a-gun call at the 99 Cents Only store on Wilshire just west of Fairfax. I work about a hop, skip and a jump from there and was just telling the wife that we should check it out for the brand-name items under a buck--after reading a profile of the company in the Southwest Airlines magazine earlier this week. Turns out, that store is the chain's most profitable, but not such a great PR move when some old guy in an Aloha shirt and a gray beard is waving a gun around and chasing customers.

First unit on scene was an LAPD "William" detective unit, which effectively cased the joint while 7Adam21 was responding Code 3 from Wilshire station. A few more units were requested and they took the guy down just up the street on Wilshire. Never actually found out what he was doing in the store, but the primary unit told another that there were two "victims" in the parking lot. No RA's requested though so it wasn't a shooting.

-- Few minutes later heard the "ambulance shooting" call go out down in Harbor Division, which brought at least six black & whites screaming down to Gaffey Street and Paseo del Mar where they amazingly and quickly apprehended the suspect; quite improbably--for that neighborhood--a white female in a yellow sun dress who had apparently just shot a white male of 45 years square in the chest.

That one might actually make the 11 o'clock news.

Angry Mood Out There

Driving around Beverly Hills at lunch time and drivers and peds seemed unusually pissy. Saw BHFD and BHPD racing all around town Code 3. Anger in the air.

LAPD Air Unit Gets Sick

Mellow Monday night, until Air 18 comes over the HOTSHOT frequency to broadcast a "Help" call and announcing a precautionary landing in the old K-Mart parking lot in Northeast Division. Pilot puts the bird down and the black and whites swarm the scene (as well as seven plainclothes guys in the area who fruitlessly tried to shut down traffic while the helo's blades were still spinning.

LAFD sent a full "aircraft down" response, but Task Force 50 arrived on scene and alerted the cavalry that it was a medical call only--seems the helo pilot had a medical emergency of unknown type. The LAFD RA arrived on scene to transport the cop.

A little bit of spice to start the week!

Watching the Vollies!

Spent a nice weekend in the "Finger Lakes Region" of upstate New York. Never been up there before, and it's really pretty country, though I know that it's probably a bit chilly for most of the year. Hung out in the charming town of Skaneateles and stayed at a little B&B about 300 yards from the central volunteer fire station. It's been too long since I've been around a vollie town but over the course of two days, we heard the big air-raid siren go off four times.

We'd watch the various pickup trucks with flashing blue lights race into the town center from all directions before mounting up and heading out to the call, sirens screaming. Of course, it was at least 10 minutes from first air-raid siren to actual fire engine siren, so I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that "emergency response"--but, of course, better than no response at all. Almost makes me wish I lived in a small town again and had my old 1995 Honda Accord with the red and white mounted dash strobe!

Overheard...

Caught the LAFD working a physical rescue traffic accident late night on Thursday on a particularly nasty stretch of Sunset Boulevard out in the Pacific Palisades. When I was in high school back in the 20th Century, a boneheaded classmate totaled his car in the exact same spot when he head-on'd some unsuspecting baby boomer going the opposite direction. Miraculously, he wasn't killed, or even badly hurt.

Not the case for the 17-year-old kid driving his Honda a few days ago. He wrapped it around a tree on the curvy road and died. I heard Battalion 9 rolling out there getting an update from Task Force 69 on the scene. You know it's bad when they have Heavy Rescue 56 responding from their quarters in Los Feliz (probably a 25 minute Code 3 response with no traffic, at the bare minimum). You know it's even worse when they don't cancel them....means the driver's really stuck and very likely really dead.