2012 LAFD FIRE SERVICE DAY

Crew 3 and Fire Station 88 in Sherman Oaks will be having an Open House for Fire Service Day on May 12, 2012.  Come join both Crew 3 and Fire Station 88 Members for a day on fun.  There will be static displays of fire apparatus as well as demonstrations for the public.

All are welcome!

LAFD Fire Station 88

5101 N Sepulveda Blvd

Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

May 12, 2012

10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Spark of Love Toy Drive

On Friday, December 9, 2011, Members of LAFD Crew 3 attended the Spark of Love Toy Drive Stuff a Bus event at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park.

 Members showed up at approximately 0500hrs to assist in gathering gifts and loading onto buses to transport to a central collection point located at Frank Hotchkins Memorial Training Center.

Crew 3 Members did an outstanding job in volunteering their time assisting ABC 7's very own Garth Kemp in collecting toys and filling up 5 buses with toys that will be distributed to families in need.  Thank you to the Crew 3 Members and everyone that helped out with this great event! 

RED FLAG Pre-Deployment - Wind Storm

On December 01, 2011, LAFD Crew 3 was Pre-Deployed due to Red Flag conditions from low relative humidity with high winds.  In the over night hours prior to Crew 3 mobilizing, extremely strong wings pounded the Los Angeles area.

Shortly after Crew 3 was activated, they started responding to "trees down" calls that were reported to be blocking streets and on cars and houses throughout the area.  Crew 3 responded to Alana Dr in the Sherman Oaks area to find an approximately 50 foot pine tree completely blocking the road and resting on a car and home.

Crew 3 Members quickly went to work cutting up this large tree that had done significant damage to one car and a home.  Crew 3 was able to cut the limbs from this tree to expose both the damaged car and home.

Crew 3 requested a loader from the LAFD Wildland Fuels Management Unit to respond to lift the remaining tree from the car to prevent any further damage and open the road.  Within approximately an hour the tree was removed from the car, home and roadway.  Great Job both Crew 3 and the Wildland Fuels Management Unit!

RED FLAG Pre-Deployment - Wind Storm

PART II

On December 01, 2011, LAFD Crew 3 was Pre-Deployed due to Red Flag conditions from low relative humidity with high winds.  In the over night hours prior to Crew 3 mobilizing, extremely strong wings pounded the Los Angeles area.

Crew 3 got a short break after removing a tree from a house and a car that had blocked the roadway.  We were able to get a quick break for lunch and then OCD notified us of another tree....  Crew 3 responded to Lana Lada Dr in the Glassel Park area to find a approximately 90 foot pine tree that had fallen the night before.

This tree came down on 2 cars causing significant damage as well as snapping a power pole and taking numerous power and communication lines down with it.  The Department of Water and Power had already been out and shut down power to the area.  This tree had blocked access to approximately 20 homes which stranded numerous residents and disabled emergency vehicles to gain access to the area if they were needed.

Crew 3 Members took on this extended operation by slowly removing portions of the tree to gain access to the homes in the area.  As work continued, the Wildland Fuels Management Unit responded with a loader to assist in access and removal of this tree.  With the assistance of numerous chainsaws and the loader, a bulk of this tree was removed to allow access to these homes and removal of the damaged vehicles without causing further damage.

After approximately 8 hours of work these residents were able to get in and out of the area.  More importantly, If any of these residents had a fire or medical emergency, responding resources would be able to reach them in a timely manner.  Within 24 hours after Crew 3 completed this task, the Department of Water and Power was able to access the area and restore power by replacing damaged power lines.  Great job Crew 3 and Wildland Fuels Management Unit!

US&R Training Site Clean-Up

On November 28, 2011, Crew 3 spent the day clearing weeds and debris at the Urban Search and Rescue training site located at Fire Station 88 in Sherman Oaks.

This Clean-Up project was to prepare the Drill Site for a upcoming Structural Collapse Technician Course that is scheduled to begin in December 5.  This class utilizes this site to train and teach students to utilize a variety of US&R tools.  With the site overgrown with weeds, the props that are used would have been inaccessible.

Crew 3 did an outstanding job at clearing this site in preparation of this 2 week long class.  Additionally, Crew 3 assisted in setting up the props for this class by removing broken concrete and and steel and stacking new lumber that will be used during the course of the class.  Thank you to the LAFD US&R Unit for involving Crew 3 in this project, as well as continued support.

Downtown Shops Tree Project

On November 15, 2011 , LAFD Crew 3 traveled to the Downtown Supply and Maintenance Shops to complete a Tree Trimming Project.  The area we concentrated on was located along the Triple Shop Driveway.

Trees along the east side of the facility had overgrown to the point that it made access difficult.  With the assistance of the Shops, Department of Transportation and the Department of Sanitation, Crew 3 was able to access, cut and dispose of these overgrown trees.

Members of Crew 3 worked for a majority of the day trimming these trees to make them look better and remove the low hanging branches that interfered with the access of both LAFD Heavy and Light Apparatus that need to traverse this driveway when visiting the LAFD Shops.

RED FLAG Pre-Deployment

On November 2, 2011, LAFD Crew 3 was pre-deployed with numerous other resources throughout Southern California due to a moderate Santa Ana wind event.  

Crew 3 was staffed up at 0700hrs in preparation of this wind event. Late the night before 3 small fires were contained just as the winds began to blow across the valley.  Shortly after Crew 3 was mobilized, they traveled to the Lake View Terrace area to check on and mop-up 2 of these 1/2 acre fires. 

Shortly after noon, Crew 3 responded to a one acre fire located in the Hansen Dam Recreation Area.  Members assisted resources from the LAFD, LACoFD and the USFS in quickly gaining control of this Brush Fire.  With the coordinated effort of these three agencies the fire was quickly knocked down.  Crew 3 assisted with line construction and mop-up.  

Verdugo Peak Repeater Project - Day 2

On October 19, 2011, Crew 3 returned to the Verdugo Peak Repeater Site to continue work on the fuel break that will provide protection to this valuable infrastructure.

Crew 3 traveled by Crew Carrier this day towing a chipper to start to dispose of the material cut days before.  After making the 1 hour drive to the site, Members again began to cut and remove dead dry fuel from around the site.

With more brush being added to the piles, a few Members began the task of chipping the material that had been stacked.  With the chipper running non-stop, the project started taking shape.

After another long day, a large fuel break is now in place to provide protection to this facility.  Thank you to the hard work of the Crew 3 Members that took part in both days to make this project a success.  The Verdugo Peak Repeater will now be safe if a Brush Fire occurs in the area.

Verdugo Peak Repeater Project

On October 17, 2011 Crew 3 was flown in LAFD's Fire 5 to a remote repeater site located in the Verdugo Mountains.  The trip to this mountain top site was to initiate a Brush Clearance Project to remove approximately 2 acres of brush and downed trees located around one of the LAFD's repeater sites.

After Crew 3 was shuttled by helicopter to this mountain top, they hiked the last 1/2 mile to access the site.  Crew 3 was met by a Captain of the Fire Communications Unit which maintains the vital communication equipment at this site.  

Crew 3 Members quickly went to work with chainsaws and hand tools to begin this tedious task.  Brush and numerous dead trees that remained after a fire in 2009 were cut and stacked for chipping at a later time. 

After a full day of work, Crew 3 had a large fuel break partially completed.  This fuel break will provide needed protection to this site, which sustained damage due to a fire in 2009.  Crew 3 will again visit this site to complete this project.  Thanks for all the hard work by those Members that participated.

Stone Canyon Helispot Maintenance

On October 14, 2011, LAFD Crew 3 completed a maintenance project at Stone Canyon Helispot in the Santa Monica Mountains above the Sherman Oaks area.  This Helispot was overgrown brush and grass which limited it's use for helicopter filling operations.

Members spent the day cutting and chipping trees and brush to improve this site.  After only a few hours this site was cleaned up and ready for use.

With the work of Crew 3, this remote helispot has been made twice the size and will be ready for use just in time for the Santa Ana season.  Thank you for the efforts of the Crew Members that took part in this project.

Oat Mtn Repeater Site - Day 2

On October 10, 2011, Crew 3 finished the project at the Oat Mountain Repeater Site.  The completion of this project has created a large fuel break around the site.  In addition to providing protection to our site, adjacent sites are further protected reducing the threat to them and possible exposure to our site if they were involved due to a wildfire. 

With the work completed by Crew 3, we can be confident that this facility will be safe as the Santa Ana Winds are right on the horizon.  Thank you to the Members of Crew 3 that took part in this project.

Oat Mtn Repeater Site

On October 6, 2011 Crew 3 traveled to the LAFD Repeater located at Oat Mountain high above the San Fernando Valley. Crew 3 spent the day clearing brush around the repeater site to protect this vital infrastructure in case of a threat by wildfire.

After a long day of work, Crew 3 had created a large fuel break that will be helpful in protecting this site.  Crew 3 will spend another day at this site to complete the work they started in the near future.  Thank you for the hard work Crew 3!

Helispot Maintenance

On October 4, 2011 Crew 3 spent the day doing helispot maintenance. Crew 3 traveled by ground to Kittridge Tanks Helispot and was picked up by LAFD Fire 1

After a safety briefing, they flew from helispot to helispot and spent a short time at each site clearing brush that are hazards to helicopters that use the sites during water filling operations.

With the Santa Ana season approaching, Crew 3's hard work will likely payoff making these operations safer for our pilots when working to help us on the ground.  Crew 3 Members had a great time and were very excited for the opportunity to fly around for the day in one of our helicopters.  Thank you Air Ops for the opportunity!

2011 Brush Press Conference

On September 23, 2011 Crew 3 attended the 2011 LAFD Brush Press Conference at the Chatsworth Helispot. Crew 3 served as a back drop for Fire Chief Brian Cummings address on the severity of this brush season.  Crew 3 was also on site to show off our program.

Crew 3 had the opportunity to get a close up look at the resources that assist them in the suppression of Brush Fires.  Members of Crew 3 also had the opportunity to meet Chief Cummings and ask him a few questions. Thank you to all that participated in this Press Conference.

Video Link: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8365982&syndicate=syndicate&section