View
218
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
1/16
1571BEVERLY
BOULEVARD
LOSANGELES,
CA90026
(#ISSN01907573)
N
ovember/December2011
PERODICAL
PostagePaid
at
L
osAngeles,CA
T
heLosAngelesFirefghter
We woke up early (4:45 am)
on Sept 11th to attend the FDNY
Memorial Service on Riverside
Dr. We showed up a little early.
With time to spare, we went to
breakfast with a reman from the
North Pole Fire Dept. While we
were waiting for the ceremony
to start, Andre and I were given
the honor of participating in thepresentation of the Ground Zero
Flag (www.thegroundzeroag.
org). This was truly humbling.
Hundreds of remen from all
over the world and we get the
honor of holding this glorious
ag that looked over the beauti-
ful people that worked day and
night to restore order to our battle
scarred country.
The ceremony started with
The Star Spangled Banner. We
dropped to one knee with our
half of the ag, while the other
half stood erect. All the re-
men were brought to attention.
Company, a short pause, AT-TENTION. Everyone snapped
to attention with heels together,
hands along the pants seam, and
a peering stare that demands re-
spect. This is that moment when
remen present their A-game. A
moment when there is a job to
do. Everything stops, and for a
moment we are warriors paying
respect to our dead. A loud voice
yells, PRESENT ARMS! as
everyones right hand snaps to
the bill of their cover. The song
begins, it sounded like it was be-
ing sung by angels. PARADE
REST, a voice demands. Allthe remens hands snap behind
their backs and they are allowed
to move their feet to a more
comfortable position. They are
allowed a moment to stand com-
fortable, but not to rest. An open-
ing prayer is given by the FDNYChaplain. And then the reading
of the names begins. Fireghter
Joseph Agnello, Ladder 118,
Lieutenant Brian G. Ahearn, En-
gine 230, Fireghter Eric T Allen
Squad 18. The names continue
like the credits in a movie. Thereis a pause, the time is 09:59, a
moment of silence, this is thetime the rst tower fell. Then the
names continue and just keep go-
ing, you picture them, you com-
pare them to people you know.
You listen to their ranks andwhere they worked. Were they
on a truck, an engine, a rescue?
Was the next names in line go-
ing to be brothers or a father and
son? There is a short pause in the
reading, thank God, its over,
I say to myself. Then another
lists starts to be read, Captain
James M. Amato, Squad 1, Fire-
man Calixto Anaya, Jr. Engine 4,
Fireman Joseph J. Angelini, Sr.,
Rescue 1, Fireman Joseph J An-
gelini, Jr., Ladder 4. My God, a
dad and son both killed, I think.The names stop. The time is
10:29, the time of the second
tower collapse, another moment
of silence. The names continue,
Fireman Faustino Apostol Jr.,
Battalion 2, Fireman David G.
Arce, Engine 33. We have an
LAFD Engine 33, I know a bunch
of guys that work there. The list
continues, Fireman Louis Arena,
Ladder 5, heck, I work at LAFD
Ladder 5. The longer the list is
read the more I realize that once
again I am listening to my own
mortality being read out loud in
front of me. Fireman Carl F. Asa-
ro Battalion 9. I look around andI am somehow comforted that if
we do have to give all, its not in
vane.(Continued on Page 9)
By Jason Teter,LAFD
Editors Note: The above ar-
ticle was written by LAFD Fire-
ghter and blogger Jason Teter.
Jason captured the emotions that
thousands of reghters were
feeling while at the FDNY Memo-
rial for the 9/11 Tribute.
Jason Teter is a gifted writer
and a dedicated Fireghter who
is also featured on page 7 for hisTribute to Brotherhood. Jason
rode his bicycle solo from L.A. to
NY and blogged about his jour-
ney.
Ofcial Publication of United Fireghters of Los Angeles City Local 112, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC
www.uac.org
VOL. 49, No. 6 November / December 2011
Nearly 200 LAFD Firefghters Pay Respects in NY
Photo By Shawn Kaye, EPN
Photo By Cheryl Goddard
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
2/16
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
3/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 3
By Jeff Dapper.Acting President
As most of you know, UFLAC
President Pat McOsker an-
nounced he was taking a leave of
absence beginning about 8 weeks
ago to campaign for the open
seat in Los Angeles City Coun-
cil District 15. During his time
away, as per our Constitution
and By-Laws, I will be the acting
President - and I wanted to take
this opportunity to clarify what
this means to the membership
and provide you with updates on
some items we are addressing.
Questions about the Leave
of Absence
Several members have in-
quired about the length of my ten-
ure during this leave of absence.
For clarication, Pat McOsker
will likely remain on his leave
of absence for the following rea-
sons:
- If he is one of the top two can-
didates in the Primary Election on
November 8, 2011 - he will likely
remain on leave and continue on
to the General Election.
-If he wins the General Elec-
tion run-off on January 17, 2012- he would retire from the LAFD
effective immediately.
-The McOsker for Council
campaign is going well and we
continue to be optimistic. How-
ever, he could return to his posi-
tion at UFLAC in November or
January depending on the out-
come of the elections. I hope this
helps clear up any questions you
may have.
September General
Membership Meeting
In an effort to increase acces-
sibility, participation and atten-dance - on September 21, 2011,
our General Membership meet-
ing was held at Fire Station 87
in Battalion 15. This was the rst
meeting in several years that was
offered at a remote location. The
meeting was well attended and
the membership provided a robust
exchange of information. We in-
tend to periodically offer future
meetings at remote locations.
Status of Negotiations
When I took over as President,
we had been encountering some
roadblocks in our negotiations. I
have opened fresh dialogue with
City Hall - and along with the
tireless efforts of our NegotiatingTeam we now have a MOU that
has been Ratied by the member-
ship.
Overtime
There has been signicant dis-
cussion by the membership over
the past couple of years about
overtime inequities and the possi-
bility of a letter of agreement for
a cumulative hour/low number
SOD hiring system. Addition-ally, the concept of a 48/96 work
schedule has been discussed for
several years - and continues to
be raised. It has been my beliefthat progress has been slow on
these items and, at my request;
our Negotiating Team has dis-
cussed and considered both is-
sues during several recent meet-
ings. Because both issues would
represent a signicant change to
our established procedures, the
membership will be afforded the
opportunity to vote on both issues
before we attempt to secure a let-
ter of agreement.
Saving the Membership
Money
A central theme of my cam-
paign was a pledge to reduce ex-penditures. To that end, your Ex-
ecutive Board is consistently try-
ing to nd ways to operate more
efciently. During the past year
alone, we have reduced operating
expenses by well over two hun-
dred thousand dollars ($200,000).
Since beginning my tenure as act-
ing President, we now have two
members of the board assigned
full time to the Fire Chiefs ofce
thereby saving the membership
several thousand more dollars per
month.
BenetsThe Dental Plan has been up-
dated and will now include a
network of providers for Direct
Reimbursement claims. We are
changing carriers to MetLife.
This will allow us to increase
dependent coverage to age 26
and add dental implants as anadditional covered benet. This
change in insurance carriers will
allow us to provide the aforemen-tioned additional benets as well
as maintain long term stability of
the Dental Plan.
Retiree Health Subsidy Issue
Executive Board members
actively visited Fire Stations to
explain the 2% opt in Retiree
Health Subsidy contribution. Ad-
ditionally, we had presentations
by subject matter experts at con-
secutive UFLAC meetings, and
we communicated with the Los
Angeles Fire and Police Pension
staff as they offered multiple
seminars in an effort to ensure
our members were fully informed
prior to making their decision.
The opt in period is now closed
and UFLAC will continue to in-
form the membership of any new
developments.
TrainingWe have been actively working
and collaborating with our mem-
bers assigned to the Departments
In-Service Training Section to
streamline the Cal-JAC funding
process which will produce ad-
ditional training course offerings
for our members.
We are happy to announce that
the In-Service Training Section
recently announced the rst ever
non-ofcer offering of the Los
Angeles Fire Department Leader-
ship Academy - a course modeled
after West Point Leadership, and
the non-ofcer delivery begins in
May of 2012.UFLAC took a direct role in
the nomination and subsequent
selection of an LAFD Captain as
a representative on the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) 2011 Assistance to Fire-ghters Grant peer review panel.
This is a federal grant program
where an appropriation of $810
million in support for Fire and
EMS services has been approved
for FY 2011.
UFLAC also is sponsoring a
one day Leadership Symposium
by subject matter experts.
Technology Updates
You may have noticed that
your UFLAC website has been
completely redesigned and new
content is being added daily. We
are actively planning for online
voting (where circumstances
will allow) - as well as develop-
ing member polls and a paycheck
calculator. Make sure and follow
UFLAC on Facebook and Twitter
for up to date and breaking news
that relates to UFLAC. We also
have a new Smart Phone applica-
tion you can download from the
UFLAC website.
Additional Activities
I have initiated discussions
and dialogue with the Mayor,
City Council members and their
staffs regarding the restoration
of LAFD stafng. I have also
met personally with our new Fire
Chief to discuss this and many
other issues.
We continue to provide disci-
plinary representation for dozensof our members. One of the ar-
eas of discussion I covered with
our Fire Chief was modications
to the Complaint Tracking Sys-
tem (CTS) and portions of the
investigatory and representation
process. We hope to see this sys-
tem evolve with changes to areas
where our members are being un-
necessarily adversely impacted.
In the past month, UFLAC had
the opportunity to provide nan-
cial assistance to the Memorials
at FHMTC, as well as the LAFD
museum. We also provided sup-
port for the Ride for 9/11, theNever Forget Ride as well as a
reception for UFLAC and FDNY
members in New York.
Happy Holidays
As we move into the Holi-
day Season please remember thethings that are important in life.
Celebrate responsibly with the
ones you love. Happy Holidays
from my family to yours.
I am humbled by the honor
and opportunity to serve on your
Executive Board and now as your
acting President. If you have any
questions or feedback, please feel
free to send me an email at:
jdapper@uac.org
Sincerely and Fraternally,
Patriot Flag at Frank Hotchkins Memorial Training Center
FDNY Fire Station 10 with Dennis Garza
FDNY Fireghter MemorialSeattle FD Local 27 President Kenny Stuart at FDNY Memorial FDNY Memorial Wall
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
4/16
Page 4 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
By Frank Lima2nd Vice President
Pension Issues
The 45 day opt-in window
is over for contributing 2%
additional percent into the
pension to secure raises in your
future retiree monthly medical
health subsidy. Approximately
70% of our pension members
(LAFD, LAP, and Port Police)
opted in, as to not be frozenforever in future retiree raises.
This is continuing to be a very
evolving situation, and after the
pension meeting on October 6th it
is clear and more than likely that
litigation will ultimately decide
the entire 2% issue, and whether
the retiree medical subsidy raises
are a vested benet or not. As of
this writing I will be attending
meetings on behalf of UFLAC
with the PPL and the CAO for
the rules/requirements/standards,
etc. regarding the dispute
resolution committee for the
2% medical contribution. We
will continue to update you onpension issues as they arise.
No Furlough Language!
Earlier this year the City
Council voted to furlough our
LAFD sworn personnel working
in a special duty (4/10) capacityincluding our Inspectors, and that
would of cut 2.3% of their base
take home pay. As I mentioned
after this vote, we would NOT
allow a small percentage of our
bargaining unit to take a hit
while the rest of us sat back and
watched; we were all prepared to
take a bite! We did great though
in negotiations after the Council
voted to furlough you; we have
a NO FURLOUGH CLAUSE in
our upcoming 3 year contract!
Arbitration Updates
Arbitration is a benet that we
have and cherish, especially inthe discipline arena. Arbitration is
a check valve that we have with
our management, and it is also
something that the department has
wanted to desperately take from
us while at the negotiating table.
Why try and take away a non-
economic item like arbitration
during these challenging scal
times? Good question. We have
the right to arbitrate discipline
and ght for you, a negotiated
benet that we will not relinquish.
However, your union board
cannot arbitrate every discipline
case for various reasons.Financially we couldnt support
every case, some cases we do
not want to arbitrate because it
could have a negative impact on
thousands of our members, and
occasionally we have to pick our
battles and keep our integrity as
a union.
The discipline arbitration has
worked in the past, and continues
to work. Following our Board
of Rights process (that seldom
seems to work and render justice,
but occasionally it does work),
we have arbitration. Remember
the 120 day suspension without
pay a few ago? It was a pleasure
getting that suspension 100%
overturned! Recently we have
had a termination case overturned
by an arbitrator with full back
pay ordered, a decision about the
department disciplining members
for nolo contender plea in court
for off duty actions. We also
had a commercial driver license
arbitration rule in our favor big
time.
The unions position was that
the departments was unilaterally
changing the discipline system
without using the meet and
confer process (as required bylaw). Management drew up
and distributed Departmental
Bulletin 10-05 (dated May 19,
2010) in regards to commercial
drivers licenses and discipline.
Some of the arbitrators awards
were as follows:
Vacate and Rescind
Departmental Bulletin 10-
05
Cease and desist from
changing the disciplinary
penalties without meeting
and conferring in good
faith with the Union Make whole, for any loss
sustained, all members
who have been precluded
from working, placed on
leave and/or ordered to a
Board of Rights because
of a failure to maintain
a valid Drivers License
with proper endorsements
These are just some of the
examples and awards to report,
but as the UFLAC disciplinecommittee chair I wanted to
make sure you were aware thatyour union will ght for you
and has sustained some good
victories in the discipline arena
recently. Also coming up is arecently led lawsuit in Superior
Court by UFLAC for Fireghter
Bill of Rights violations, Skelly
violations, and due process
blunders by the Internal Affairs
Section that didnt think twice
about trampling our members
rights (after we made several
good faith attempts to x the
issues).
Fireghter MemorialsFallen Fireghter memorials
continue to be a very solemn and
humbling reminder to never forget
our brothers and sisters who have
paid the ultimate sacrice! If you
have never been, please make an
effort to attend one of the events
next year in our hometown at the
LAFD Memorial, in Sacramento
at our State Memorial, or in
Colorado Springs at the IAFF
Memorial. Several of your board
members were in attendance at
the various memorials spending
time with the fallen widows and
children of our brothers.
Words cannot say enoughabout the LAFD Color and Honor
Guards! Our Color Guards are
as good and professional as it
gets, and the cadre of the crew is
growing! Please thank them when
you see them at the rehouse or
after marching at an event and
representing you; often times
away from their families for days
at a time doing their honorable
work. Also in attendance in
Sacramento was LAFD Fire
Chief Cummings. This was the
9th annual California State Fallen
Fireghter Memorial, and the rst
time we have ever seen an LAFDFire Chief in attendance there,
thanks for showing you care and
remember!
9/11 Memorial Never Forget
As a U.S.A.R. rescue worker
at ground zero beginning work
on 9/12/11, it changed my life
forever as it did the re service,
and our country. There is not a
Memorial that will ever replace
the horror, terror, and loss of life
of our FDNY fallen 343, Police,
and civilians going to work that
day. Words cannot take back the
fatherless children growing up
because of the attacks, and the
reghters who survived that
are still suffering adverse health
effects as well. As a department
we need to never forget that
day, and think about it daily as
a reminder of what we do day
in/day out and the dangers we
face in this different world with
terrorism.
The 10 year memorial service
at LAFDs training facility was
well attended. We had a cadre
of members who rode their ten-speeds across the country, the
Firehogs rode their motorcycles
across the country as well. They
met up in New York City for the
memorial in NYC as well. It was
nice that the LAFD represented
the memory of 9/11 from coast to
coast.
Pilot Glen Smith
Id like to express our most
sincere condolences to the
family of our active Helicopter
Pilot Glen Smith. Brother Smith
recently lost a long battle with
cancer, but left behind a legacy
on our Department. Glens son
Steven is an active Fireghterat Fire Station 94, and Steven is
continuing to hear stories about
what a great man his father was.
Also in addition to Glen being
a true gentleman, he was a very
competent Fireghter and Pilot,
and the rst African American
Helicopter Pilot in the history of
the LAFD. Glen would routinely
hit the mark with his pinpoint
water drops when the pressure
was on him with Fireghters
below him in harms way of an
fast moving brush re, or hovered
the helicopter perfectly while
hoisting a fallen hiker during
an over the cliff side rescue, or
steadily following a stranded
child while making an heroic
rescue with cables and ropes in
the pouring rain right above a
fast moving ood control river.
At the Smith residence days afterhis passing, I heard several stories
that were shared with family,
friends, and co-workers; we have
to do our part to keep those stories
going to keep Glens memory
and legacy going. Brother Glen,we would like to thank you for
your years of service, memories,
teaching the other Pilots, and
leaving your legacy behind. We
will never forget you!
(Look for a Complete Tribute
to Glen Smith Next Issue)
Wellness Health
Please take advantage ofthe wellness-tness initiative
that we have worked out with
management. What it comes
down to is a choice to exercise/
workout while on-duty, or not
to. This is an outstanding benet
that we have, so please take
advantage of it. Blood Pressurechecks.. have you done themyet? If so, are you doing them on
a regular basis? I will continue to
pound this into you to check and
monitor your own blood pressure,
keep your own log (condential),
and address the silent killer head
because it is easily treatable if
detected early! Weve heard back
from several members on the
Stop, Drop, and Control High
Blood Pressure that have detected
a problem, and now have it under
control.
Fireghters always help others,
and rarely help themselves. Checkyour blood pressure for your
family because High BP does
not discriminate with age, race,
or religion. Brothers and Sisters
please take care of yourself.
Happy Holidays!
The Holidays are upon us
now during these fall months
so regardless of your religious
faith afliation, take the time
and spend it with those you love.
Take the time to appreciate all of
the good things we have. Take
the time to do something nice in
your actions for another brother
or sister in the department. Keep
the families of our fallen in your
prayers and thoughts during this
time of the year.
Boxing with Carmen A. Trutanich, City Attorney
LAFD Honor GuardsFire Hog Check PresentationFire Chief Cummings and Urquiza Family at CPF Memorial
LAPPL Gala
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
5/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 5
By Chuong HoDirector
IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter
Memorial:
The 2011 Observance of the
IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memo-
rial took place on September 17,
2011 in Colorado Springs, Colo-
rado. The annual IAFF Obser-
vance honors those brave soulswho selshly and bravely gave
their lives serving and protect-
ing their communities. This year,
two Los Angeles City brothers
were honored when their names
were etched on the granite walls
at Memorial Park in Colorado
Springs. The names of Brothers
Glenn Allen and Gary Clark are
now enshrined forever on this sa-
cred wall next to the other bravemen and women who have madethe ultimate sacrice. May God
bless you and your families!
This years observance was well
attended by Local 112 mem-
bers to not only honor our fallen
brothers, but also to support the
families of these heroes. Those
in attendance included members
of your UFLAC executive board,
members of your Relief Asso-
ciation board, the LAFD Color
Guard, and the LAFD Fire Hogs.As a rst time attendee to this
event, I was extremely humbled
to be a part of the re departmentcontingent that made the trip to
Colorado Springs. The strength
and kindness of both the Allen
and Clark families were truly
inspirational and we thank them
for allowing the re service the
opportunity to honor our fallen
brothers! They will never be for-
gotten.
California Professional
Fireghters (CPF)
Memorial Ceremony:
The California Professional Fire-
ghters held their annual Fallen
Fireghters Memorial on October
1, 2011. The California Memo-
rial Wall is located on the historic
grounds of the State Capitol in
Sacramento. Of the 30 heroes
enshrined at this years service,ve had ties to Los Angeles City.
Glenn Allen (2/19/2011), Gary
Clark (9/22/2010), John Calla-
han (8/18/2010), Ralph Urquiza
(9/20/2009), and Keith Kroll
(12/9/1979) all joined the list ofCalifornias fallen heroes who
have made the ultimate sacrice.
We thank the CPF for putting to-
gether such a wonderful and t-
ting tribute for the families of our
fallen brothers.
California Fire Foundation:
The California Fire Foundation is
the CPF charitable organization
that helps the children of Cali-fornias fallen reghters pay for
school. Each year, scholarships
are awarded to help eligible chil-
dren in their pursuit for higher
education. To qualify, applicants
must be the child of a California
fallen reghter whose name is
on the Memorial Wall. Currently,
the scholarships that are awarded
each July are in the amount of
$2,000.00. With college educa-
tion costs skyrocketing, your CPF
would like to increase the schol-
arship amounts to keep up with
the times. We must never for-
get and therefore, continue to bethere for the children of our fallen
heroes. As such, the Foundation
has created an endowment where
donated monies can be held, in-
vested, and utilized to make sure
that this scholarship programwill be sufcient and satisfy the
increasing costs of higher educa-
tion. The Fire Foundation needs
our help in raising money. The
CPFs California Fire Foundationis a 501(c)(3) nonprot organi-
zation so your donations are tax
deductible and ultimately, your
donation(s) will be the key in-
gredient in ensuring the success
of this wonderful endeavor. To
make a donation, contact the Fire
Foundation at (800) 890-3213
and/or www.carefoundation.
org. After you make your gener-
ous donation, ask about the CPF
challenge coin. I urge you to
donate today! In parting, I leave
you with a quote from one of my
childhood heroes:
Lifes most persistent and ur-gent question is, what are you
doing for others?
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
By Tony Gamboa
Director
Honor Guard
Colorado Springs
There were two Los Angeles
Fireghter names engraved on the
granite wall in Colorado Springs,
Glenn Allen and Gary Clark.
Both families had support from
your Executive Board on behalf
of every Local 112 member as
well as support from the Relief
Association during their stay in
Colorado. Our Honor Guard did
an outstanding job representingthe LAFD during that memorial
weekend. Shannon Saffo, Kevin
Johnson, Ryan OGorman, Al-
fonso Mackey and Kelly Niles
were the members that were pres-
ent out of 21 member cadre. The
guys were professional, looked
sharp and made us all proud!
Sacramento
This year I had the humbled
privilege to escort Janice LeDoux
widow of Keith Kroll and Keiths
granddaughter Christine Sprague
at this years memorial in Sacra-
mento. The other names that were
engraved on the limestone wall
were Ralph D. Urquiza, Glenn
D. Allen, Gary Clark, ret. LAFD
John Callahan and David Law-
rence Powell father of active duty
A/O Dustin Powell. David was
an A/C, California Emergency
Management Agency. The Honor
Guard was also present in Sacra-mento and did a ne job repre-
senting the LAFD.
Retiree Health
2% Contribution
Over the past few months we
had many informational sessions
at Firehouses to get as much in-
formation out to our members
prior to September 29, 2011 opt
in date. The calls were non stop
since July to our board members.
We had 2 informational sessions
at the UFLAC ofce and the
LAFPP had several informational
sessions as well. Hopefully the
sessions at the rehouses along
with e-mails and info behind thesecure login on our website have
helped some make a more in-
formed decision.
Representation
Brothers and sisters, if youreceive notication from PSD
that you are under investigation
and wish to have representation
please call the James A. Perry
Labor Center (UFLAC Ofce)
immediately for assistance.
32nd Annual Labor Day
Parade and BBQ
This past Labor Day event that
took place in Wilmington was a
success. Several of your Execu-
tive Board members, Stewards
and Family members came out
to support the labor coalition.
Our Local 112 MOAB was at the
center stage with friends of labor
in local, state and federal level
of government helping out at the
BBQ and serving thousands that
showed up. The teachers, grocery
workers, Teamsters, Longshore-
men, and so many others appre-
ciated the Fireghters in joiningthem in solidarity for that special
day.
IAFF Memorial in Colorado Springs with Clark and Allen Families Allen Family with Fire Chief Brian Cummings in Sacramento
Family of Keith Kroll at CPF Memorial in Sacramento 32nd Annual Labor Day Volunteers
LA City Controller
Wendy Greuel Working the MOABLAPPL Gala
LAFD Honor Guards Go Above and Beyond
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
6/16
Page 6 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
On July 28 , a group of 20 Fire-
hogs participated in the send off
ceremonies for the cyclist riding
coast to coast as the Ride for 911
Riders. At the conclusion of that
ceremony the Firehogs escorted
the cyclist to the City of Los An-gels limits.
On August 25, A ceremony,
coordinated by Firehog Vice Pres-
ident Mike Kammerer, was held
at the World Trade Center Memo-
rial at Frank Hotchkin Training
Center to recognize all the LAFD
members making the journey to
NYC for the 9/11 Memorials.
This event included speeches
by Fire Chief Brian Cummings,
UFLAC representative Frank
Lima, and a benediction by
Chaplin Mark Wolfe. Firehog
Vice President Mike Kammerer
then spoke about the importanceof the Coast to Coast Ride and to
always remember the sacrices
made that day ten years ago and
are still being made by those in
our military to this day. Firehog
Vice President Mike Kammerer,
acknowledged the donations giv-
en by UFLAC ($2500) the Fire-
mans Credit Union ($1000), and
the Firemans Relief Association
($1000), for banquet to be held in
NYC for those that traveled there
and for the FDNY Fireriders.
Fire Hog North End Vice Presi-
dent Jack Wise presided over the
ceremonies and gave the tribute
of the 10 bells honoring Gary Sta-meisen, Gary Clark, Glenn Allen,
and those that gave their lives in
the Fire Service in NY and Los
Angeles.
Following the ceremony, a
catered lunch sponsored by
UFLAC, the Los Angeles Fire-
mans Credit Union, and the Los
Angeles Firemans Relief Asso-ciation was provided on the drill
deck of FHMTC.
From August through Septem-
ber over thirty ve members of
the Los Angeles City Fire Depart-
ment departed on a cross country
trip across the United States to
New York to pay tribute to their
Fallen Brothers of the FDNY.
The Knoxville boys had ar-
ranged a personalized tour of the
Jack Daniels Distillery- on our
way to Knoxville that included
a tour of the Old No 7 Fire Bri-
gade, led by Master Distiller, Jeff
Arnett .The riders were escorted into
Knoxville by the State Troop-
ers with fanfare courtesy of the
Knoxsville Boys. At the hotel
in Knoxville other Clans for Los
Angeles joined the group and the
riders numbered over 30.
The Knoxville Boys proved
that they had been busy planning
events to make our stay memorial
with an escorted tour on Sep-
tember 4, through the infamous
Dragon Tail Canyon Road, that
boasted 318 turns in 11 miles.
Later that evening, we attended
a local concert that included the
Kentucky Headhunters that hon-ored the Firehogs as guest of
honor.
With one of the Clans going
to the NASCAR Race the other
Clans departed on September 5,
for a 300 mile trip Roanoke, VA.
Departing Roanoke, VA on
September 6@ 0800hrs we were
able to pay our respects at the pentagon memorial in the early
after noon and later that evening
the group chartered a buss for
an evening tour of Washington
DC that included a visit to pay
our respects at the Washington
Monument, Lincoln Memorial,
Vietnam Wall, Korean Memorial,
Martin Luther King Memorial,
and World War II Memorial.
Leaving Washington D.C. on
September 7 for a 420 miles ride
to Philadelphia, the Clans trav-
eled to the small town of Shanks-
ville to pay honor to those who
sacriced their lives in the strug-gle of ight 93. From there we
traveled through the battleelds
of Gettysberg on our way to Phil-
adelphia. Upon entering Phila-
delphia we stopped at the Central
Market and met up with the Ride
for 911 Riders who still had a few
hundred miles to go.
With all the Clans back to-
gether again we departed Phila-
delphia, PA on September 8 for
our destination of New York City,
NY.
With over 30 riders now in the
group, on September 9 we rode
to New Jersey to escort the Ride
for 911 Riders into NYC andthe FDNY Firemens Memorial
at Riverside Park, NY. Joining
the escort were members of the
NYPD & FDNY. At the Fire-
mens Memorial, a ceremony was
held marking the end of Cyclist
Coast to Coast Ride. Firehog
Vice President Mike Kammerer,presented a check of $5,000 to the
FDNY Widows & Orphans Fund.
That evening a ceremony was
held honoring those that made the
pilgrimage to NYC to honor the
fallen. This event was held at our
host hotel, the Brooklyn Marriott,
which was sponsored by UFLAC,
the Los Angeles Firemans Relief
Association and the Los Angeles
Firemens Credit Union for the
FDNY & LAFD present in NYC.
Highlights of the event included
the tribute to Gary Stameisen
which included his widow Lori,
the 10 bell ceremony honoring
those that have received theirlast call, and the presence of the
FDNY.
On the morning of September
11, Charter Buses left the hotelto Riverside Park for the ofcial
FDNY Memorial Ceremony.
This event included the reading
of the names of the 343 members
lost. Following that the busses
took everyone to the ceremony at
the FDNY Firemens Museum for
the dedication of Chaplain Mike
Judges turn outs and gear to the
museum. Other events attend-
ed included the 10 House Still
Standing, Ceremony at GroundZero with the FDNY Pipes and
Drum Ceremony.
As a nal tribute to one of our
own, on September 12, we rode to
Coney Island Firemens Memo-
rial Wall for the burning of Gary
Stameisens Fighog Colors with
the FDNY Fire Riders and otherIAFF members. Garys ashes
were then tossed into the Sea he
loved so much for all eternity.On September 13 most clans
left from NYC taking various
routes to the IAFF Colorado
Springs Memorial.
Many of the Clans attended
the September 17, Wind & Fire
Rocky Mountain Chapter-Ride to
Remember, 2011, which endsed
at the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter
Memorial Service where the
names of Battalion Chief Gary
Clark & FF Glenn Allen were
added to the Memorial Wall. Af-
ter the weekend services most of
the remaining Clans took their
own routes home,
During the 24-day ride, theFirehogs raised over $5000 dol-
lars for the FDNY, traveled close
to 8,000 miles with over 30 rid-
ers, rode through arduous condi-
tions each day, and only had 3
minor falls with no injuries. The
coordination of the last 10 years
by Mike Kammerer, Scott Gill,
the Knoxville Boys, and all the
Clans resulted in an event that
will be etched in the minds of
those that participated forever.
To quote a blessing that was
our matra : May you always ride
with the wind in your face, the
sun at your back, the rubber sidedown, and may you never ride
faster then your Guardian Angels
can y..
By Jack Wise,LAFD
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
7/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 7
By Jason Teter,
LAFD Fireghter
Recently, I completed a journey
that would change my life forev-
er. It was a journey into the heart
of our brotherhood. Many times
it takes a tragedy to bring light to
the loving family that we belong
to. My life was going to become
embraced by our Fire Departmentfamily and it was just a bike ride
away.
Its not easy to make the deci-
sion to leave your home, your
family, and your friends for 47
days. Its even harder when you
are leaving them to ride your bike
over 3500 miles across the coun-
try. The reason I embarked on this
journey was to pay tribute to the
re service and the 343 men that
gave the ultimate service while
protecting others.
After six months of training, I
rolled out of Fire Station 89 on
July 24, 2011, accompanied on
a bicycle by my friend, A/O Rob
Curtis, from FS 89 and followed
by my wife Nicole, her sister,
Haylee, her mom, Gemma, my
friend, LAPD Detective Robert
De Armon, my friend, A/O Matt
Nolen, and his wife, Kristy. Thisis were my journey as a reghter
started so it was tting that my
tribute to the re service should
also start here.
My plan was to ride without a
support vehicle. I would carry ev-
erything I needed for the next 47
days on my bicycle. I started off
pulling everything I needed in-
cluding the kitchen sink in a trail-er. After two weeks, I narrowed
everything down to 2 small bags
on the back of my bike. Occasion-
ally, remen would ride along and
they would provide a day of SAG
support. Most days, I was on my
own and it was very long between
stops. On Sundays, most business
were closed, so these days proved
to be somewhat trying. On one
occasion, I had to ride 2 days outof my way to x a wheel. For the
most part the self-reliance just
added to the adventure.
As I embarked on this epic
adventure, I had no idea what to
expect. All I knew was that 9/11
had a profound affect on me as a
Fireghter and as an American.
I felt compelled to pay tribute to
the men that changed my life that
day.
When I left in July, our Fire De-partment was in one of the lowest
points I have ever seen. Morale
was already nonexistent and thenwe shut down 18 re companies
due to budget cuts. I was almost
relieved to be taking a break from
all the negativity that had been
surrounding us for so long. Ill
be the rst to admit, I was feeling
very discouraged with our De-
partment when I left.
On the third day of riding, I was
met by several other riders, Fire-
ghters from Jean, Nevada. Not
only did they ride with us, their
department provided apparatus to
escort us into Las Vegas. As we
were riding we discussed many of
issues that plagued both our de-
partments, budgets, pensions, etc.
My new friend asked me, Why
are you doing this? Normally, I
would have explained it the same
way that I explained it above,
but I didnt. Instead I answered,
I am searching for something.
Almost surprised by my own an-
swer, I began to contemplate whyI had answered that way. Then he
asked, What are you searching
for? I answered, Something I
have lost over the last 11 years,
that feeling I had when I was new
on the job. He did not say any-
thing else about it. We continued
to talk about the re service until
we reached the edge of his dis-
trict. I want to tell you a story
before I go, he said, I recently
attended a retirement dinner for
one of our department Captains.
It was a pretty standard din-
ner everyone was telling stories
about his career. All his broth-ers were laughing and scratch-
ing like we do. Our last chance
to razz our friend before he goes.
Then out of nowhere this lady
that no one seems to know takes
the podium. She is old enough to
be his daughter, but we all know
his family and we dont know
her. Firemen are protective of
their brothers and no one knows
this women. Suddenly the whole
room is watching this lady like
a hawk. She starts talking about
what a great guy the Captain is
and what a great paramedic he
is, now we are really suspicious.
She starts talking about how he
excelled in the training tower and
he graduated in the top of class
as a paramedic. This girl is too
young to have known him when
he was in the training tower, she
is starting to walk a really thinline now. Who is this women?
Now she starts telling a story.
When your Captain had only two
days on the job he responded to
a call of a child drowning. As he
arrived on scene he observed atwo-year old oating lifeless in
the pool. He jumped in and pulled
the child to safely. He began to
work on her lifeless body as he
rushed her into the ambulance.
Thats a really stressful day for a
kid with only two days on the Fire
Department. Two days in the eld
and he had already proven that he
was meant to do this job, he had
found his calling. She looked at
the re Captain and said, thank
you for saving my life that day.
This women was the girl in the
pool. There was not a dry eye in
the house that night.
My eyes welled up when he
told the story. I felt like I had
been kicked in the gut by a mule.
Suddenly I got it. It was not about
what we were talking about that
mattered, it was that we weretalking, that mattered. One broth-
er talking to another. Its not
about where you are standing, its
who you are standing with that
is important. Suddenly my mis-
sion was clear. This was not just
about paying tribute to those we
have lost, I was going to draw a
line from one end of the country
to the other. I was going to leave
a can in California and string a
line across the country and bring
a can to New York. For you
younger readers I would be build-
ing cell towers across the country.
I would attempt to connect ourbrothers like we were connected
just after 9/11. My mission had
already began without me, I just
had to catch up.
The next morning we had 6reghters show up at 0430 hours
to ride with us 100 miles in 100
degree weather. A remans son
drove a pick up truck lled with
cold water and snacks, ying an
American ag. At one point when
the sun, or reball as they refer to
it in Nevada, came out, the rid-
ing really became tough. The kid
asked all the riders, Does anyone
want to ride in the truck? His
dad answered for us, Firemen
dont quit, son.
From here on out the days
would consist of approximately
90 miles a day, the longest day
being 130 miles. Most breakfasts
and lunches would consist of cof-
fee, Skittles, and York pepper-
mint patties. All of which would
come from an establishment that
also sold liquor or fuel. Occa-
sionally, I would stumble across
a diner, there I would enjoy a sit-
down meal consisting of eggs and
bacon. Dinner, or supper as they
still call it in farm country, was a
different story. I would generally
enjoy a ne meal with my bothers
in the re house. Sleeping accom-
modations varied from station to
station. I slept on beds, couches,futons, air mattresses, TV chairs,
and oors. I traveled with a pil-
low, and bedding was readily
available. All I really ever needed
was a hospital sheet.
Once you get out of the majorcities most of the re departments
are volunteer. Most volunteer
departments dont have beds be-
cause they dont man the station
until a call comes in. Some vol-
unteer stations would put me up
in their homes and feed me din-
ner and breakfast. Others would
open their station and I would
stay there alone. From time totime, a hotel stay was the only
viable option. At some point, I
realized that I was not alone so
far away from home. I was being
cared for by my brothers. I was in
their hands now. They would take
me in, make sure I was housed,
cleaned and fed, then they would
gently hand me off to the next
family member. At one point, my
brother Fireghter Ceaser Garcia,
FS 66, shipped me a new replace-
ment wheel set. The Nolen fam-
ily provided tires for the wheels.
Now I was literally riding on the
generosity of my brothers.
In Salt Lake City, the Fire
Captain woke up early and had
breakfast ready by 0500. One of
the off going Engineers put on his
uniform drove his personal car
to the training tower, picked up
a rig, and escorted me through a
dangerous portion of the Rocky
Mountains. No one every askedfor these things, these men just
made it happen. You can try toforce a reman to do what you
demand and your results will be
less then gratifying. If you ask for
their help and let them do their
job, they will move mountains
for you. The stories go on and on.
The stories of our family working
together to accomplish one com-
mon goal, the goal being never
forget.
The nal leg of my journey
would be the FDNY memorial
in New York. I was joined by my
friend, Fireghter Andre Voelker
and my family, Nicole, Hayleeand Whitney. We joined thou-
sands of reghters from all over
the world to pay our respects at
the memorial.
During my journey, it was
made very clear to me that the
Fire Department spirit is very
much still alive across the coun-
try. Our department has reached
a dangerous level of separation.
With MCP, Pool positions, and
Fire company closures, quite of-ten members nd themselves on
their own, segment after segment.
The re service is what it is today
because of the brotherhood. It isin my opinion after spending time
in over 40 re stations across the
nation that we must preserve our
way of life. We are on the verge
of a new era in emergency ser-
vices. To remain the front run-
ners, we must be united. From the
Fire Chief on down we must look
to the future and focus on what
made us what we are today. Our
commitment to providing service
to the citizens of the city.
http://tetering.wordpress-com/author/teterjason/
The Fire Department spirit is very much still alive
across the country. Jason Teter
Photo by Haylee SolomonPhoto by Haylee Solomon Scott Smith, John Marsco, Jason Teter in NYC
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
8/16
Page 8 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
By John Marasco,Fire Station 66
July 24, 2011... Almost 10 years
since the day that our generation
lived through a day we would
never forget. A group of Fire-
ghters, from LA City Fire, LA
County Fire and Fullerton Fire
embarked on a journey across
America. Most had met a few
times before the ride had started,
some were experienced cyclists,and others were ammeters, but
all had a common goal of riding
for honor and never forgetting the
343 remen and the military men
and women that have given theirlives since 9/11.
One day I received a call from
a good friend of mine Scott Smithwho was an LA County reghter
asking me for help. He was cy-
cling across America for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Him-
self being a former Marine and
a 10-year veteran of LA Countyre, assigned to LA County 16s,
he expressed a strong desire to
pedal every mile across our greatnation to remember that day. He
had teamed up with Marv Wil-
liams FS 4, Warren Sutton of
OCD, Jorge Ostrovsky of FS 69,
Scott Hambly and Jim Prabhu of
FS 37, Randall Wright LA County
54 to cycle the whole way across
the US. Adam Loeser and Mike
Meacham of Fullerton Fire sta-
tion 1 and myself planned cycle
about half the country. Rob Scott
of FS 27, Mike Ketaily and Doke
Smith of FS 69 planned drive the
RV and help with support and lo-
gistics.
The Ride For 9-11 would beraising money for The Leary
Fireghter Foundation, which
raises money for reght-
ing equipment, as well as, The
Wounded Warrior Project, which
helps military men and women
in countless ways. Immediately,
I wanted in and I remembered
back to September 11th 2001 like
a vivid dream. I was attached to
the Marine Expeditionary Unit
on a port visit in Australia. We
had heard the Twin Towers were
hit, no one knew how bad. TheSkipper recalled Liberty and we
sent sail immediately. The next 7
months of my life would be ying
around the clock helicopter mis-
sions in the invasion of a country
I knew nothing about. I grew up
in New Jersey seeing the towers
as a regular part of the skyline of
Manhattan, while now all I have
to remember them is by videos of
how they fell. To this day, I have
always felt that I wish I couldhave done more. Loeser ew
out after 9/11 to help at ground
zero, known as the pile, right af-
ter the attack. Meacham ew out
to NYC and attended reghter
funerals in his dress uniform, be-
cause the FDNY didnt have the
personnel to attend funerals of
their fallen brethren. Everyone in
the ride knew where they were on
that day and had a personal con-
nection to the towers. The Ride
For 9-11 was another chance for
me to help and I wasnt going to
pass it up.
I had never cycled more than 60miles at a time, let alone in con-
secutive days. The riders would
be expected to cycle approxi-
mately 100 miles a day, through
rain or shine, heat, humidity and
mountains. Crossing the US is a
daunting task, let alone crossing
it during the summer. As the de-
parture date neared, fund raising
events, work and life seemed to
always get into the way of train-
ing for the ride. There was a lot
to do and little time to do it.
The rst day on the ride was
over a 130 miles long into the
desert. We left FS 27 with a he-
ros departure, as the Fire chiefs
of LA city and LA County, LA
city councilman Tom LaBonge
and a crowd of friends and family
watched us depart. We quickly
learned that maps, GPS, and bi-
cycle computer programs arent
always perfect.
The rst week we faced brutal-
ly hot temperatures as we crossed
the California desert. Tem-
peratures above 115 marred the
ride. Too hot and dry to even
sweat or breathe and the knowl-
edge of cycling over 100 miles
made it seem an impossible task
to cross the nation. But like ev-
erything in life, if you just keep
moving or in our case, if you
just keep pedaling we would get
through it. I went the rst week
with the ride to just outside Pay-
son, AZ.
I ew back into Chicago along
with Warren Sutton and Adam
Loeser to nish the ride.We were in Ohio before we
knew it, surrounded by corn-elds.... lots of cornelds. Randy
entertained all of us with another
one of his crashes on a country
road in the middle of nowhere.
In a few days we cycled into
Kent, Ohio, the childhood home
of Adam Loeser. We received a
heros welcome. As we rounded
the corner to the main street led
in by a Kent Fire engine, the
crowd was 4 deep on the sidewalk
with streets lined with Americanags. People waving ags and
hands, just happy to get a wave or
look from one of the riders.
There I met a father of an Army
sniper that was killed in action
in Iraq. I was brought nearly to
tears as he thanked me for what
we were doing and how he re-
members his son by giving back.Then we road into Pittsburgh,
where we were led in by a group
motorcycle cops. We pickedup another Fullerton Fireghter
Mike Meacham. The guys knew
we were getting close to reaching
our goal. Before we knew it, we
were in Shanksville, PA visiting
the Flight 93 memorial. Then
to DC at the Pentagon memorial
talking to a reghter that fought
the re at the Pentagon.
We road off to New Jersey
through Philly, I had reached my
old stopping ground. In Philly
we picked up a retired Fireman
named Joe from NYFD who
had lost many of his brethren on9/11. He was riding with us the
last day to NYC, to the NYFDs
Firemans memorial on 100th
and Riverside Drive, but we had
a stop to make rst. We were cy-
cling to Nottingham High School
in Hamilton, NJ. My brother is a
gym teacher and my sister a coun-
selor at the high school. We ar-
rived to meet the faculty and talkto the history classes that were
in session. It was September
9th and they were talking about
9/11. The students in the classes
were about 6 or 7 years old when
the towers were hit, most dont
even remember that day or what
America was like before 9/11. I
did my best to impress upon them
how America had changed and
everyone was affected that day
and how our lives have changed
since. It seemed to have the most
effect when Joe, the retired New
York Fireman, welled up in tears
as he talked about that day. We
then headed to NYC with one
thing on our minds, getting to
the memorial. As I crossed the
George Washington Bridge, I
knew I was minutes from getting
off the bike. The Fire Hogs met
us as we crossed and lead us witha NYFD re truck to the memo-
rial. Reaching the Fireghter
memorial in New York was amaz-
ing. Friends, family and New
York Fireghters waited.
On September 11, 2011, 2 days
after we road into New York, my-
self, the riders and other Fireght-
ers attended the 10-year memo-rial of 9/11. As we stood in ranks
in our dress uniform and listen to
all of the 343 names read aloud, Igazed at the 343 American ags
that stood across from me and the
giant American ag where Jason
Teter stood as a ag bearer. Hehad cycled his road bike across
the US unsupported in remem-brance of 9/11. There were days
when an injury sidelined me after
only half the mileage of that day
and I could jump in the RV to re-
cover. Jason had no such luxury
as he crossed the US. I couldnt
even begin to imagine the trials
he faced by himself.
As they read through the 343names at the memorial, it nally
dawned on me how big 343 re-
ally is. In this world, we throw
numbers around like million and
billion like they are small, so
anything in the hundreds soundsinsignicant. But, it must have
taken well over an hour to read
all the names, 343 is not a small
number by any means.
I thought back to the Riders
like Marv Williams, Scott Smith,
Scott Hambly and Jorge Ostro-
vsky who pedaled every mile
across this great nation, and even
a few more down wrong roads
only having to pedal back to get
on the right one. The rest of us
suffered through injuries that
sidelined us or couldnt get the
full time off from work.
Many people ask me why Idid it and what I remember most
about the ride. I think back to
some of the guys I road with, the
people I met along the way, and
the country I nally got to see that
I served and fought for. I did it
so we will never forget the 343
Fireghters, the men and women
ghting everyday in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and all the people that
died in the Pentagon, Flight 93
and the twin towers.
www.ridefor9-11.org
Photos By Adam VanGerpen
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
9/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 9
(Continued from Page 1)
From where I am standing I
can see my wife and her two sis-ters. I think about how they have
signed up for this also. I am happy
that they are here participating in
this. Its good to know your fam-
ily is behind you when the time
comes to go to work.
Its good to know they under-
stand what they are a part off. Ni-
cole is a nurse in the hospital. We
both know what we signed up for
.We know that if something
big happens in Los Angeles that
we may not talk for days. We
know that we are a part of some-
thing bigger. Fireman Gerald T.
Atwood, Ladder 21, I just wantthe names to stop. Almost like if
I can stop the names, that many
Firemen wont really have to die.
They dont stop, the names con-
tinue on, and on. The lady on the
street in front of me must be re-
lated to a Fireman she is visibly
crying in pain. There is a lady
consoling her. Fireman Gerard
Baptise, Ladder 9, Dang, this is
a lot of men . Finally the names
stop. I take a deep breath, are the
names going to start again? There
is silence for a moment and anAngel begins to sing Amazing
Grace. I can not see her, yet I
know she is an Angel, I can hear
it in her voice. She sings it from
her heart, from her soul. Then
her voice begins to fade a little,
then a crack, the Angel begins to
weep. I hear men clearing their
throats, trying to stop their noses
from running, trying not to cry
while standing tall. Its no use,
we have all been touched by this
Angel. The Angel weeps until the
crowd begins to thank her for her
generosity with applause. Then
she begins to sing with tears inher voice. Her song was unlike
any I have ever heard. It was pure
goodness cutting through me like
a knife. Im not sure what you be-
lieve in, this was undeniable, this
was pure. We were in the presence
of an Angel and she was singing
for us. She opened the gates of
heaven for us. For a brief moment
we were allowed to look into the
heavens, and then the Chaplain
prayed. They presented a wreath
as the Bag Pipes played. Voices
from the past chanting throughthe sound of the pipes, the voices
that say Dont Forget Me. Taps
played as a reminder of what
we are willing to do for others.
Company, DISMISSED. And
just like that we were dismissed
to return to our duty, our duty to
serve. We turn and embrace the
ag. We fold her up and replace
her in her home. We pray she may
rest in peace. We hope that she
will never again see the things she
has seen. We hope that her only
job will be to make sure we honor
what we have sworn to our fallen.
We Shall Never Forget!
By Jason Teter, LAFD
Dedication, Sacrice, and
Commitment, are just a fewwords that describe the reght-
ers who took part in the journey
from LA to NYC.
Nearly a year of preparation
went into putting the Ride For
9-11 together. There were nu-merous fund raisers, community
events, sponsorship meetings,
and phone calls that went into the
ride. There were countless hours
of time and energy put into the
planning and logics prior to the
event.
A website was built at no cost
so people could make donations
and follow the riders as they
made there journey across the
United States. A video crew also
travelled with our reghters and
captured some amazing footage.This was a journey that the re-
ghters will never forget. These
riders touched countless lives andthey will remember the ride for
the rest of there lives.
While they were facing 120 de-
gree heat in the desert and mon-
soon rain and wind they kept the
number 343 on their minds.
I am honored to be friends with
these riders.
By Adam VanGerpen,Editor
Notre Dame Pentagon
US Marine Corps Memorial Warren Sutton
Photos By Adam VanGerpen
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
10/16
Page 10 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
Patriot Flag
Photo By Shawn Kaye, EPN
LAFD hosted the 9/11 Re-
membrance Ceremony dedicat-
ed to those who perished on Sep-
tember 11, 2001 at Frank Hotch-
kin Memorial Training Center
Speakers included Mayor An-
tonio Villaraigosa, Fire Chief ofthe Los Angeles Fire Department,
Brian L. Cummings, Fire Chief of
the Los Angeles County Fire De-
partment, Daryl L. Osby, Los An-
geles Police Chief, Charlie Beck,
Los Angeles County Assistant
Sheriff, Marvin O. Cavanaugh,
United States Coast Guard Cap-
tain of the Port, Roger LaFerri-
ere, U.S. Congresswoman Janice
Hahn and Former Governor Gray
Davis.
The ceremony site near Elysian
Park is especially noteworthy,
due to the presence of two me-
morials dedicated to the events
of September 11, 2001. The rst
memorial is dedicated to the
World Trade Center and consists
of a 23-ton, 22-foot tall steel col-
umn that was originally part of
the lobby structure. This column
is believed to be the largest rem-
nant of the World Trade Center on
the West Coast. The second me-
morial is located in the lobby of
the adjacent training center and is
titled Towering Memories. The
Towering Memories memorial
consists of two shapes similar to
the silhouette of the Twin Tow-
ers of the World Trade Center.
Included on the memorial is a list
of those who lost their lives at theWorld Trade Center, the Pentagon
and the Pennsylvania plane crash
site.
Scan to watch 9/11 video
Photos By Mike Meadows, EPN
Photo By Adam VanGerpen, Editor
www.thepatriotag.us
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
11/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 11
By Rick McClure By Mike Meadows
By Mike Meadows
By Ryan Ling
By Ryan Ling
By Juan Guerra
By Mike Meadows
By Bernie Deyo
By Ryan BabroffBy MIke Meadows
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
12/16
Page 12 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
Passionately Pink for the Cure
November 10, 2011 marks
the 20th Annual USMC Birth-
day Celebration at LAFD. All
Marines (past and present) and
friends of the Corps are invited.
The Marine Corps in com-
memorating 236 years of service
to the United States of America.
Marines all over the world gather
in celebration no matter where
they are.
The celebration of history,
pride, and tradition will take place
at the LAFD Museum at Old Fire
Station 27.
We will have a traditional cake
cutting ceremony with the old-
est and youngest Marines pres-
ent. The Commandant message
will be played and Marine Corps
items will be on display.
You are encouraged to invite
fellow Marines who have never
been to this great event. Its a
great time to swap stories and
meet new people. Rafe prizes
will be available for those of you
who no longer go to the exchange.
Come and see who this years
guest speaker will be. Last year
we had a Marine who was on Iwo
Jima.
Semper Fi
The Passionately Pink for the
Cure campaign helps IAFF af-
liates participate in National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
by providing tools and resources
to use in their own communi-ties and events. All donations
collected online in connection
with the IAFF Passionately Pink
campaign will be shared equally
by the IAFF Charitable Founda-
tion and Susan G. Komen for the
Cure.
This exciting new program
is designed to complement the
IAFF resolution passed at the
2010 Convention that supports
and encourages IAFF members to
participate in campaigns to help
ght cancer. Susan G. Komen
Passionately Pink for the Cure of-
fers a great way for IAFF mem-bers to contribute to the cause.
To join the IAFF Passionately
Pink campaign team, click here.
Through this web site, IAFF af-
liates can register using IAFF
in their campaign name to create
a personalized fundraising web
page for secure online donations
and access to free tools and re-
sources - including educationalmaterials, fundraising ideas,
downloadable posters and yers.
IAFF afliates that join the
IAFF Passionately Pink campaign
team will receive a fundraising
kit with breast health informa-
tion, promo posters, donation re-
ply forms and return envelopes
and 25 lapel pins. Additional la-
pel pins and other breast cancer
awareness items are available
through the IAFF Online Store.
Funds raised during the Octo-
ber campaign will be split equally
between the IAFF Charitable
Foundation and Susan G. Komenfor the Cure.
The IAFF Charitable Founda-
tion Inaugural Gala, held August
16 in New York City, celebrated
the ofcial launch of this newly
restructured organization that ex-
pands the scope of its charitable
funds to better support and meet
the ongoing needs of IAFF mem-
bers and their families. For moreinformation about the IAFF Char-
itable Foundation, go to:
www.iaff.org
This year UFLAC went Pas-
sionately Pink For the Cure. We
ordered pink UFLAC t-shirts
and handed them out at the Rati-cation Meeting. We also set
up a personal page for UFLAC
through a Susan G. Komen web-
site to try and raise some money
for nding the cure to cancer.
http://www.info-komen.org/
goto/local112We hope to make this an annual
event and do more and more ev-
ery year. Thank you to those who
participated and wore Pink.
On November 30, 2011, the
Los Angeles City Fireghters
Association will vote on this
years 2011
Fireghter of the Year. This
honor of distinction and recogni-
tion is given to a member of any
rank, who, not by any single act,
has distinguished him/herself
as one of outstanding character,
dedication, and loyalty to the De-
partment, the Fire Service, and to
the citizens of the community.
To be eligible for consider-
ation, nominees must have been
an active LAFD member for atleast one day during the nominat-
ing year, and a member of the LosAngeles City Fireghters Asso-
ciation.
Candidates will be judged on
an overall career and life thatexemplies the best qualities of
those who are honored to be part
of the re service.
If you know of such a person,
and would like to nominate him/
her for this prestigious award,
submit your application NO LAT-
ER than November 28, 2011, to
any one of the nominating com-
mittee members listed below.
The nomination must include the
nominees name, rank, assignment
and a statement of why the mem-ber should receive the award.
Photos and other documentation
may also be submitted.
Please attend the Los Angeles
City Fireghters Association
meeting on November 30, 2011.
The meeting will take place at
0830 in the Fire Station 59 Train-
ing classroom, Show up at 11505
Olympic Blvd. and present your
nomination IN PERSON.
All Los Angeles City Fire-ghters Association members
are welcome, and encouraged to
attend the meeting and presenta-
tions, and to show support for the
individuals being nominated.
Presentations may be subject
to time limits depending on thenumber of nominations received
in order to provide fairness to all
nominees. These time limits will
be announced prior to the start of
the November 30, 2011 member-
ship meeting and will be strictly
enforced. The nominee cannot be
present during the meeting.
The election will be held in
closed executive session follow-
ing the nominations, and only
members of the Los Angeles CityFireghters Association Board
will vote.
Following personal notication
of the winner by the Vice Presi-
dent, a public announcement will
be made by Department teletype.
For additional information onhow to nominate somebody for
Fireghter of the Year please go
to the LAFFA website or LAFFA
Facebook Page. You can also
contact members of the Nomina-
tion Committee.
2011 FIREFIGHTER OF
THE YEAR COMMITTEE
George James, (661) 433-4679
James S. Dolan, (562) 400-1298
Adam VanGerpen (818)486-9939
Nominations Due
November 28th
www.laffa.org
USMC Birthday Celebration - November 10th
Fireghter of The Year Nominations
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
13/16
November / December 2011 Los Angeles Fireghter Page 13
By Rudy Santiago,
Apparatus Operator, (Retired)
On Sept. 3 I headed out to
Flagstaff, AZ to meet with otherIAFF/MG riders to NYC for the
10th Memorial service of our
343 fallen Brothers. These were
District 10 members of the M.G.
from Long Beach Fire, Cal Fire,
Anaheim Fire and Flagstaff Fire
Depts.
From Flagstaff we headed up
to Glenwood Springs, CO where
we met with other M.G. riders
from District 9. They rode their
own route to NYC but we did
spend the evening together talk-
ing about our different depts. and
sharing stories.
Our next stop was in Lincoln,
NE were the Local there opened
up their Union Hall to us and 30
or so riders from another District
heading for NY. They had pizzas,
and beverages for us to enjoy and
their bag-pipers performed a few
numbers for us. The display of
Brotherhood in our re service
was absolutely incredible there.
The next morning we picked up
two of the Nebraska reghters
as we continued on our journey
east.
Our next stop was the Harley-
Davidson dealership in Ottawa,
IL were the local there arranged
to host a BBQ for us and another
group of union riders going to NY.
I believe it was there District rid-
ers from the Illinois area becausethere were about 20 or more bikes
that came in after we did. The
steaks and the extras were deli-
cious to say the least. Again the
hospitality was unbelievable.
As we rode along the interstates
to NY I had my C.B. radio on and
tuned into the truckers channel. It
was very interesting to hear their
comments about us as we rode
past some of them. For some rea-
son a lot of them thought we were
bikers coming home for the Stur-
gis Rally until I would tell them
what we were riding for. Usually
there would be a pause and then
they would wish us well on our
ride and thank us for what we do
as well as paying us condolences
for losing our Brothers that day.
When we nally arrived in
Newbaugh, N.Y., home of Or-
ange County Choppers, we were
met by an overwhelming sight
of motorcycles from all over the
country and Canada.
On the morning of the 11th,
we all rode to the motorcycle
museum in Newbaugh were we
all formed up in our respective
Districts to make our way to New
York City. First we drove past the
Newbaugh Fallen Fireghter Me-
morial before returning to OCC.The ride down to NYC was
police escorted all of the way.
All of the on-ramps on the New
York Thruway were closed by the
police and the toll booths were
open for us to drive through. Any
vehicles that were on the thruway
as the procession pasted were
stopped at the toll booths.
As we made our way into the
city and the memorial the streets
near the memorial were lined,unofcial, with members of the
FDNY and the EMS service as
well as the NYPD. They were
waving at us, giving us thumbs
up and clapping as we rode past. I
spoke with several FDNY Broth-
ers who were amazed that we had
ridden in from all over the coun-
try and Canada and were very
grateful for us doing that.
After an invocation by a Chap-
lain from the FDNY, President
Schaitberger gave a very nice
and fairly short speech. When the
proceedings were over with ev-
eryone left to go and explore the
city or back to Newbaugh. I had
made plans to stay in the city for
a couple of nights before heading
west to Colorado for the annual
IAFF Fallen Fireghter Memorial
in Colorado Springs, CO.If you have never been to Colo-
rado Springs for the IAFF Memo-
rial there then you are missing out
on one of the most heart warming
experiences of being a reghter
and a union member. It is unfortu-
nate that we have to have this me-
morial because it means we have
lost a Brother or Sister reghter.
But it brings us all together to
honor their memory and life.
As a reghter and a union
member I urge each and every
one of you to go and see the wall.
The sculpture of the reghter
on the ladder and the one of thereghter resting are an inspira-
tion to us all and a reminder of the
job we do and why we do it. The
granite wall with the names of our
members is a stark realization of
the hazards we all face each and
every time the alarm goes off.
Among the names that were
added to the wall this year were
two of our very own, Gary Clark
and Glenn Allen.
It matters not what dept, oreven what country the reghter
is from, we were all there to hon-
or each one of them.
Local 5 of Colorado Springs
maintains the memorial and for
them it was especially hard thisyear because they had one of their
own added to the wall.
When the bag-pipers and drum-
mers come marching out and they
start playing Amazing Grace, I
have said this before, even the
most harden of us will not have a
dry eye. Its about paying respect,
honor and a tribute to those that
paid the ultimate price in the line
of work we have chosen.
Rest well my Brothers and Sis-
ters; you have answered your last
alarm.
Uniformed reghters, fam-
ily members and dignitaries from
throughout California gathered
Saturday to pay tribute to those
who gave their lives to protect
the lives and property of Califor-
nians.
Continuing a solemn and so-
bering autumn tradition, theCalifornia Fireghters Memorial
added the names of 30 California
reghters who fell in the line of
duty. Located in historic Capitol
Park, adjoining the California
State Capitol in Sacramento, the
Memorial carries the names of
more than 1,200 reghters who
died in service since California
became a state in 1850.
Today, we honor 30 reght-
ers who gave their lives in ser-
vice to our state and their com-
munities, Governor Edmund G.
Brown Jr. said. Their bravery,
commitment and sacrice will
not be forgotten.
Eighteen reghters who died
from traumatic injuries or job-
related illnesses in the past 12
months were honored at the Oc-
tober 1, 2011 ceremony, as well
as 12 others from earlier years
that were brought to the Califor-
nia Fire Foundations attention in2011.
Among the names added to
the Memorial Saturday were San
Francisco Lieutenant Vincent
Perez and San Francisco Fire-
ghter Anthony Valerio. Both
men died battling a June 2, 2011
structure re in San Franciscos
rst multiple line-of-duty death
in 60 years.
The 30 individuals whose
names we add to it today repre-
sent the best of our state and its
people, said Lou Paulson, Chair
of the California Fire Foundation
and President of California Pro-
fessional Fireghters. In adding
their names to this proud Memo-
rial, we pay tribute to their honor
and sense of duty, and we commit
to their loved ones that we will
always remember what they gave
for our state.
Saturdays Memorial ceremo-
ny also included a moving tributeby Vallejo reghter Brett Smith,
whose friend and colleague Al-
ameda City reghter Scott Car-
nevale -- died earlier this year of
job-related cancer.
The men and women whose
names are on this wall traded
every tomorrow they would ever
know to do a job most would not
be able to do, said Smith. That
is dedication. That is honorable.
That is how we should remember
them.The centerpiece of the annual
reghters memorial ceremony
is the presentation of ags to the
families, friends and representa-
tives of every one of the individu-
als being honored. The tribute
also features a solemn uniformed
reghter procession and the tra-
ditional Last Alarm ceremony,in which a re bell is rung to sig-
nify a fallen reghters nal call
to duty.
Unveiled in April of 2002, the
California Fireghters Memo-
rial features two stunning statues
and a dramatic Memorial Wall on
which the names of 1,206 fallen
reghters are engraved. The
Memorial was created without
any state funding through pri-
vate contributions to the Califor-
nia Fire Foundation. Most of the
more than $2 million was raised
to build and maintain the Me-
morial was raised directly fromreghters through the purchase
of reghter license plates and a
state tax check-off.
The California Fire Founda-
tion is a non-prot charitable or-
ganization created by CaliforniaProfessional Fireghters in 1987
whose mandate includes an array
of public education and victim as-
sistance projects. California Pro-
fessional Fireghters (CPF) rep-
resents 30,000 career reghters
and paramedics. It has over 170
afliated local unions, and is the
State Council for the Internation-
al Association of Fire Fighters.
On October 8, 2011 Los Ange-
les Fire Chief Brian Cummings
and members of the Los Angeles
Fire Department past and present
were joined by civic and com-
munity leaders as well as friends
of the LAFD, at the 2011 Fallen
Fireghter Memorial Ceremony
in Hollywood .
The Fallen Fireghters Memo-
rial is situated in the heart of Hol-lywood, just outside Old Fire Sta-
tion 27 on Cahuenga Blvd. The
dramatic plaza is home to a me-
morial wall, listing the names of
every known department member
who died while at an incident or
as a result of a duty-related cause.
The Fallen Fireghters Memo-
rial is situated in the heart of Hol-
lywood, just outside Old Fire Sta-
tion 27 on Cahuenga Blvd. The
dramatic plaza is home to a me-
morial wall, listing the names of
every known department member
who died while at an incident or
as a result of a duty-related cause.
Pictured to the right is the fam-
ily of Glenn Allen and crew.
Photo By Mike Meadows, EPN
8/3/2019 Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011
14/16
Page 14 Los Angeles Fireghter November / December 2011
AB-678 Medi-Cal Ground Emergency Medical TransportCPF-sponsored legislation al-
lowing local re departments to
be reimbursed by the federal gov-
ernment for Medi-Cal emergency
transport services is on its way to
Governor Brown.AB 678 would allow local re
departments to submit certied
public expenditures for unreim-
bursed Medi-Cal ground emer-
gency medical transportation ser-
vices to the Department of Health
Care Services (DHCS) for reim-
bursement by the federal gov-
ernment. This bill would further
require participating agencies to
reimburse DHCS for related ad-
ministrative expenses. The bill
is authored by Assembly Member
Richard Pan (D - Sacramento), .
As Californias health system
continues to deteriorate, the lo-cal re department in its rst re-
sponse capacity participates in
transporting Medi-Cal patientsat an ever increasing rate. Spe-
cically, ambulance transports
have increased 13% from 1997 to
2006 and ambulance transports of
Medi-Cal beneciaries increased
19% from 2006 to 2009. Further,
Medicare rates in California were
reduced 10% in 2010, represent-
ing a reduction of $35 millionstatewide, thereby straining re
department budgets even more.
Californias ambulances will
provide approximately 3.1 mil-
lion transports this year. Nearly
300,000 of those will be Medi-
Cal patients, and up to half ofwhom will be transported by re
departments. Depending on the
demographics the percentage ofthose patients can range from
10% to 35% of a re departments
total transport volume.
Historically, Medi-Cal has not
kept up with the cost of ination
or healthcare and current Medi-
Cal rates do not cover the oper-
ating cost of a typical ambulance
transport. These non-reimbursed
costs are subsequently absorbed
into a re departments General
Fund and paid for by the taxpay-
ers. The California Department of
Health Care Services has identi-
ed an existing federal program
that provides a 50% match of
unreimbursed expenses to local
agencies who provide Medi-Cal
ground emergency medical trans-portation services.
Federal money is being left on
the table. The sooner this volun-
tary program is up and running,
the sooner local re departments
can access much needed scal re-
lief and continue providing these
critical safety net services.
AB 678 was approved unani-
mously by the Assembly Health
Committee on April 5, 2011. This
bill was then referred to the As-
sembly Appropriations Commit-
tee where it was approved unani-
mously on May 27, 2011. AB 678
was approved on the Assembly
Floor 76-1 on June 2, 2011. It
was then referred to the SenateHealth Committee where it was
approved unanimously on June
22, 2011. The measure won nal
approval in the Senate on Sep-
tember 2nd, and On October 2nd,
2011 Governor Brown proudly
signed this bill into law effective
immediately.
Legislative
IAFF Political Training AcademyThe 2012 Political TrainingAcademy application period is
now open.
Developed through FIREPAC,
the IAFF Political Training
Academy educates and assists
campaign veterans and political
newcomers alike on how to runfor elected ofce, manage a po-
litical campaign or direct an af-
liates political action program.
More than 700 IAFF members
have graduated from the Politi-
cal Training Academy, and over300 IAFF members and their
relatives currently hold electiveofce.
Held once a year, the Political
Training Academy is a week-
long, hands-on political training
course taught by outside cam-
paign experts and IAFF staff.
Seminars focus on issues ofconcern to politically active re
ghters, such as de
Recommended