Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011

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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


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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:

[email protected]

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


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


5/16


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


6/16


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


7/16


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


8/16


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


9/16


(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


10/16


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


11/16


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


12/16


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


13/16


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


14/16


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

Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011

Documents

Transcript of Los Angeles Firefighter Newspaper NovDec2011