RescueKujo

Incident Alerts are for significant incidents only (MCI, 2nd Alarm or greater fire, Fire with Fatality, TC with extrication, etc). There have been IAs posted before anyone got onscene where it turned out to be nothing or a small fire. The IA board was not created for every incident in the world....

That's a nice, positive attitude. While I have not lost anything in our wildfires out here, in 2003 while I was at work my wife and stepdaughter evacuated, as did my parents. If I had lost anything, was it my employers responsibility? I did have coworkers lose everything, and nationwide my company banded together to help their coworkers, as we did for Katrina and other National Disasters. This is a request to help your fellow humans, who not by their own actions but by a force of God have lost everything. I pray if this ever happens to you no one looks the other way. I believe there are relief agencies that are able to deliver to the affected areas. If these people have lost everything, maybe the stores in the area were destroyed also?

Now 3 and a half hours into incident, LAFD/LACoFD USAR Teams still working on passenger car. Reports of now possibly 20 people DOA, over 100 injured. Departments involved as of right now are as follows: LAFD, LACoFD, Ventura County FD, LAPD, LA County Sheriff, Multiple Privte Ambulance Agencies. Patients being flown to trauma centers in the central LA area so not to overtax the system in the northern San Fernando Valley by LAFD, LACoFD and LA Sheriff helos. More information still pouring in, press conference soon. Update as soon as more concrete information is known. Duane West Coast Correspondent-EMT Bravo Networks

Link: LAFD Blog Site

On September 12, 2008, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Police Officer III Spree Desha, was aboard the Metrolink train that crashed head on into a freight train in Chatsworth. Officer Desha was killed on impact, leaving her family, friends and fellow Officers grieving her loss. May God watch over her family, friends and fellow LAPD Officers.

Update per LAFD: 25 fatalities, 135 injured. MetroLink states their Engineer is at fault, but the NTSB states their report is not final. ** Correction on a previous post. The injured LA County Sheriff's Deputy was offduty, not part of the MetroLink security team. Duane

Last update for the night... Still stating 15 fatalities and 135 injured. Some passengers still in passenger car hit by the freight train engine. Per LAFD Chief Berry, the locomotive is embedded into the passenger car. LAPD Officer is a 7 year veteran of the department. She was off duty and riding the train. Sorry, I did not catch her name. Will post a LODD when I have it. Also injured and in critical condition is a LA County Sheriff's Deputy, who was on the train as part of their security. Clavicle fracture, multiple rib fractures, a punctured lung and punctured leg. Deputy John Ebert assisted with rescues out of the passenger car until he collapsed. He is in the ICU in a Ventura County Hospital. May God watch over the rescuers as they attempt to free those still in the car. Duane

Dozers from either LAFD or LA County Fire having to carve out a road for equipment to be brought into the crash site. Comments have been made that rescue/recovery may take through tomorrow (Saturday) and possibly into Sunday.

LAFD now extricating the body of the LAPD officer. Rank and File forming up for honors....

KTLA now reporting 15 DOS, including 1 LAPD officer. Unknown if they were onduty or offduty. Also reporting persons still trapped under the passenger car. Another press conference soon. More to follow.

I was out of town for an Emergency Medical Dispatch class, and asleep in my hotel room (Pacific Daylight Time). My pager went off with an IPN alert. I thought "how bad is traffic screwed up in San Diego this morning?" and looked at the pager. I was instantly awake, thinking of the B-25 into the Empire State Building (I am not that old, but being former USAF and a history buff I know the story), but when I turned on the TV and saw the weather, all I could think was "WTF"?? As I got up and was getting ready to go to class, I saw the 2nd plane. I got an empty sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and knew the terrorists were at it again. The day sucked in class, as no one could concentrate. 1 woman had family in both FDNY and LAFD and was losng it. It went from bad to worse when she found out her brothers who were assigned to the LAFD USAR Task Force was heading to the site. Another classmate had a sister who was a flight attendant, and the family hadn't heard from her all day.

Thank you from one who can't get back there for this. I hope the financial funding will be found, as this tribute needs to continue. Duane

***UPDATE*** Rescue Ops now starting a recovery operation, LA County Coroner's Units now onscene. Cadaver dogs being flown in from counties outside LA to assist. Per press conference, 10 confirmed DOS over 100 injured with no confirmed count. Extrication still in progress on Metrolink car. This crash was headon, a Union Pacific Freight train into the MetroLink, with the locomotive tearing apart a passenger car. There was a fire at the time of the crash, which was extingushed by first arriving units.

Seth, Good luck, buddy. I expect we won't hear from you starting sometime Saturday. If you need to pass messages, you have my cell number. As an aside, AMR deployed assets that have not evacuated Houston are now "sheltering in place" at Reliant Stadium, home of the Texans. May God watch over all during the storm. Duane

Thanks for the laughs...can't get the smile off my face...

You blush?? Yeah, right.... Congrats, buddy. You deserve it. I'll miss ya on the buffing tours this weekend...I still need a copilot

Belated congrats, Oswego. Glad to hear both mom and son are doing okay. Duane

Welcome to our newest members. Thanks for joining.

Congrats ALS. Thank you for your knowledgable and thought provoking posts throughout the forums (just look at the Medevac thread for an example!). Duane

I know here in San Diego County there's a problem with people in the suburbs wanting to use the helos way too much. All the trauma centers are within 20 minutes drive within the metro area (5 throughout the county with Children's SD the exception). In our contract cities, I hear fire captains putting the helos on standby before they're even onscene. 9 times out of 10 the helos is taken off standby, not even used. I agree there's areas of the county where the helos need to be used. As for the stat of almost 50% being released within 24 hours, I haven't seen a MRI or CT Scanner small enough to fit into either an ambulance or helo. Until the day EMS gets those bitchin Star Trek hand held scanners that Dr McCoy and others used, it is mechanism+signs and symptoms= mode of transportation in my book. As a news anchor used to say in San Diego, "That's my opinion, what's yours?"

Link: Three Firefighters Killed in Nevada Air Tanker Crash

Victims of Nevada Air Tanker Crash Identified Link: Firehouse.Com Article

Link: 3 Killed in Medevac Helicopter Crash

Happy Birthday, Buddy. I hope it's a good one. Duane

Congrats, Brother. Thank you for all your hard work in supporting the site. Duane