Photos by Matt Cohn
Last Saturday afternoon the public got a chance to see where the Long Beach Fire Department prepares its firefighters and paramedics to deal with any emergency, at any time. It was another installment of 5th District city councilmember Gerrie Schipske’s “Open Up Long Beach” program, in which participants were treated to a tour of Long Beach Fire Station 17 and the adjacent LBFD Regional Training Center.
This LBFD open house undoubtedly had special meaning for Schipske, who is currently running for mayor. As she told Saturday’s attendees during her greeting remarks, she’s a registered nurse practitioner and emergency medical technician who has worked in Long Beach as a trauma nurse.
The LBFD, which has been operating since 1897, prides itself in being known nationally for its high proficiency in responding to medical emergencies (over 85% of LBFD calls are “med” calls) and for its aggressive style of firefighting.
“Some departments do what they call a ‘surround and drown,'” says firefighter Craig Carley. “That’s not offensive, it’s defensive. We drag the hoses in, try to find the origin of the fire and extinguish it, preventing it from damaging structures and killing people. That’s our style.”
Long Beach firefighters are constantly training, keeping up with the demands of a jurisdiction that includes 52 square miles of territory, seven miles of beaches (the Long Beach Lifeguards are part of the LBFD), 22 square miles of waterways, an airport and one of the largest ports in the country. Along with thorough training in emergency medical services, firefighters receive training in dealing with hazardous materials, high-angle and confined-space rescues, terrorism and every kind of fire scenario.
Only the very best candidates are considered for the LBFD. The washout rate in every new “drill school” is 25 to 30 percent. An encounter with Truck 17’s 100-foot ladder alone (see photo above) has been known to eliminate a few potential candidates. “This training yard is the final filter,” says firefighter/paramedic Jake Heflin.
The commanding Heflin lead Saturday’s tour of the apocalyptic-looking training yard, where firefighters encounter basement fires, chemical spills and victims trapped in crushed vehicles. There’s a structure called the “Casa Del Fuego,” with chains on the inner walls that hold plywood so the building can be ignited over and over again. And there are replicas of a variety of roofs so firefighters can learn the critical skill of venting a fire without damaging the building’s structure.
Heflin called upon two members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to demonstrate the proper use of a fire extinguisher. “Remember, P.A.S.S.,” Heflin told the crowd. “Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the flames, pull the trigger and Spray, and Sweep the stream at the base of the flames.”
Firefighter/Paramedic Jake Heflin giving a tour of the training yard at the LBFD Regional Training Center.
Heflin, the program manager for CERT, calls the program a “force multiplier” for disaster response. Any member of the community can enroll free of charge in the 22-hour CERT training program. Over 6000 people have done so since 2003 and there will also be a teen CERT program in the upcoming semester at Poly High School. Since it is estimated that it takes an average of 72 hours for an Urban Search and Rescue team to find you in a disaster, a CERT member may be there to offer you assistance first. “Increasing someone’s ability to help themselves, their loved ones and their neighbors in a disaster is the foundational component of CERT,” says Heflin.
The men and women of Station 17 gave their presentation with good humor and camaraderie, which serves them well in their dealings with the complex chaos of emergencies. “It’s intense,” said one firefighter/paramedic. “You can be delivering a baby on one call, and be working on a patient in full cardiac arrest an hour later.”
“We often call upon people having the worst day their life, and they need things to go perfectly,” says an LBFD firefighter in a video presented at the training center on Saturday. “That’s why a firefighter needs to do so much training.”
To learn more about the Long Beach Fire Department, the CERT program, and other LBFD programs, please visit www.longbeach.gov/fire
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