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Written by SHEILA MOSS   

Fire Station 8 Ready and Able

Several men stand to the side as one man dons his firefighting gear. Captain Rick Brunson of Fire Station 8, located at ll351 Tampa, holds a stop watch. “Go,” he yells as he watches the seconds tick away. Turning to me he explains. “He has 60 seconds to get his compressed air tank on.” The man wrestles with the tank which resembles an air tank used for scuba diving. The man meets the time with seconds to spare. “We run drills like this every morning” says Firefighter Ed Puente. An anonymous voice in the back yells, “Not bad for an ‘old’ guy.” The teasing banter is common around the Station. The men are like a ‘family.’ 

 

Thanks to Captain Brunson, yours truly is behind the scenes of Fire Station 8. This Porter Ranch station has four men on the Engine Company and two assigned to EMT rescue. According to Firefighter Ed Puente, they work on 24 hour schedule. “We go from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. the following morning. Then we’re off a day.” A typical day begins at 6:30 with Relief (the changing of the posts) at 8:a.m. line up. The captain on duty (they rotate) goes over the bulletins, hiring and new information. Daily Housework comes next.

Flexible Drill requires a check of equipment or apparatus.

Then comes lunch and shopping for dinner. The firemen pay for all of their food. When asked about being a firefighter, Puente smiled, “This is a great profession. Sure we see horrible things and we do have to keep our emotions out of it. But we are trained; we have the tools; and we know how to neutralize the situation.” He thinks that people who join the service have good self-esteem, compassion and stern nerves. The firemen take pride in being trim and fit. “Using gym equipment keeps us in shape.” The firehouse is one story so the firemen do not have to fly down a pole when the alarm sounds. They have an extremely neat and clean kitchen. Off the kitchen is a room for relaxing and watching TV. The sleeping quarters are dormitory style. When asked what homeowners can do BEFORE a fire should erupt, Puente replies. “First and foremost” advises Puente, “follow the clearance notices for their own safety and the firefighters. Keep brush cleared within l0 feet of roadways.

Homeowners can go on line to www.lafd.org/brush for more information. In addition, he stresses, “Check smoke detectors twice a year. Change the batteries every six months to be on the safe side. Have an evacuation plan and practice it. If you are concerned about important documents and photos, invest in a portable hard drive; it’s better than a CD, according to Firefighter Mic Delabarcia. Once the fire becomes a reality, evacuate immediate. DO NOT LOCK your front door. When not dealing with fires, the firemen of Station 8 respond to health emergencies.

If you have an emergency, Call 9ll, not the Fire Station. “A lot of what we do is EMS related such as a heart attack or birth. Firefighter Puente’s eyes light up at the mention of birth. “After 23 years in the business, I delivered a baby this year. It was very rewarding. An experience I won’t forget.”

This is my seventh column. It doesn’t seem possible. I’ve enjoyed hearing from some of my readers and hope to hear from some more. What would you like to read about in Porter Ranch? You can reach me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
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