Town destroyed by fire, another town steps up by love

California wildfires: Town hosting displaced victims for Thanksgiving feast

NBC News

By Dareh Gregorian and Rima Abdelkader
November 19, 2018

The town of Lincoln, California, is banding together to help the wildfire victims try to have a happy Thanksgiving.

Krystin Harvey, left, comforts her daughter Araya Cipollini at the remains of their home burned in the Camp Fire, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.John Locher / AP

Residents of the Sacramento suburb — population 47,000 — are putting aside their own Thanksgiving Day plans to serve meals to those who’ve been displaced by the widespread destruction.

"It’s going to be a good night out to get their minds off what's happened," one of the organizers, Jeannette Bermudez, told NBC News on Monday.

The event was "thrown together pretty fast because all of this happened so fast," said another organizer, Jack Montgomery, 38.

The local fire department held a turkey drive that resulted in over 100 turkeys being donated. The city of Lincoln offered up its event space, McBean Pavilion, for free. A local casino offered up buses for transportation to and from hotels. 

Companies were donating games and arts and crafts to keep kids busy. Townspeople and local restaurants and stores were cooking up food for the event.

My Dog's Spot, a local dog grooming shop, offered to house victims' pets during the dinner — and to give them a bath and some grooming if needed, Bermudez said.

"They'll be loved on and spoiled while their owners enjoy dinner," she said.
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Firefighters Saving Lives, Except Their Own

SAVING THOSE WHO SAVE OTHERS: A RETIRED CHIEF AIMS TO STOP FIREFIGHTER SUICIDES 
East County Magazine
By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2017 

Most are young or in the prime of life; 228 were between age 17 and 30, 265 were  age 31 to 40, 269 were age 41 to 50, and 190 were age 51 to 60.  Firefighters in their  60s and 70s accounted for 48 and 30 suicides respectively, and 49 were of unknown age. 

(San Diego’s East County) – Last year, 69 firefighters in the U.S. died in the line of duty, the National Fire Protection Association reports. But far more  -- 139 – took their own lives.

So far this year, 86 firefighters have been lost through suicide—including Cal Fire Captain Ryan Mitchell, who killed himself at the Pine Valley Bridge in San Diego’s East County earlier this month.

Jeff Dill, CEO and founder of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (www.ffbha.org) , is determined to save firefighters’ lives  through special workshops designed by a firefighter, for a firefighter.

The workshops are offered to fire departments across the nation. They focus on behavioral health awareness, suicide prevention, and making resources available to help firefighters and their families.  

“Five years ago, no one was taking down these names and numbers,” says Dill,  a retired battalion chief who got his masters degree in counseling in Illinois and has since done research to compile data on firefighter suicides, then went on to create programs to help prevent such tragedies.

Since 1880, when the earliest known suicide occurred (a fire chief in Auburn, New York), at least 1,078 firefighters have killed themselves.  Sixty of those deaths were in California, the fifth highest rate in the nation after Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, the FFBHA reports.
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In 2008, I received and award from the IFO for my work as a Chaplain. That was topped off only by hearing this video, intended for National Guard and Reservists, was helping police officers and firefighters.

When we can understand regular folks surviving trauma, it shouldn't be hard to understand when someone risks their lives on a daily basis to end up suffering for what they are willing to do for the rest of us.

They wouldn't be wounded if they didn't care enough to endure all of it for our sake!

Iraq Veteran Found Dog-tags After Fire in California

Emotional Iraq veteran finds his dog tag amid ruins of his parents' home destroyed by wildfire

ABC News

Emily Shapiro

October 11, 2017

An Iraq veteran spent this week sifting through the charred remains of his parents' California house to find one of his most precious items: the dog tags he deployed with.

While Brady Harvell's Santa Rosa home survived the deadly wildfire that tore through the area, his parents, who live nearby at the house he grew up in, lost everything.

Harvell said his parents' house had already filled with smoke by the time they woke up. They grabbed their two dogs, two cats and fled. They didn't have time for anything extra, like his baby pictures, he said.

"Everybody I grew up with ... everybody's house is gone. It's absolutely nuts," he told ABC News.

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California Veteran Watched Home Burn Down

‘It Looked Like the Apocalypse.’ California Residents Watch in Horror as Wildfires Destroy Their Homes
TIME
Melissa Chan
October 10, 2017

“We were watching unit by unit by unit burn down,” said Flores, 66. “We just stood there in shock. It was so fast. My house just burned down in front of me.”

Eduardo Flores and his wife could only stare in shock as a massive fireball swallowed their longtime home in Santa Rosa, Calif. within minutes.

The Army veteran had woken up to use the bathroom about 1 a.m. Monday when he saw a blood-red sky outside. The wildfires that would leave at least 13 people dead and more than 1,000 homes destroyed in California's wine country had reached his front door.

“It was literally raining fire. We were choking, gasping for air,” he told TIME on Tuesday. Flores rushed outside to warn his sleeping neighbors in the Journey’s End Mobile Home Park. He hammered on their doors with his fists and smashed their windows while screaming. Ten minutes later, he and his wife grabbed their dog, left all their belongings behind and made their way to a nearby hospital, where they climbed to the third-tier parking lot. They had an aerial view of the destruction.
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Firefighter handcuffed for protecting others after crash

Veteran Firefighter: CHP Cuffing Engineer at Scene Was "Shocking"
An 18-year veteran firefighter from a different department with the same job of driving the fire trucks reacts to the handcuffing of an engineer at a crash scene
NBC San Diego
By Dave Summers
Feb 6, 2014

The handcuffing a Chula Vista firefighter at an accident scene has prompted a strong reaction among other emergency personnel across the U.S., specifically one 18-year veteran firefighter.

A California Highway Patrol officer detained the firefighter at the crash scene along Interstate 805 near Telegraph Canyon Road Tuesday night.

A car had rolled through construction, injuring two people. Chula Vista Fire Engineer Jacob Gregoire was detained after refusing to move Fire Engine 52 which was protecting medics working the scene.

A Chula Vista firefighter ended up in handcuffs at the site of a car crash Tuesday night. The California Highway Patrol officer said the fire engine was blocking the road, but the firefighter said it was protecting the crash victims. CHP and Chula Vista Fire met for a discussion on Wednesday. NBC 7’s Omari Fleming has the outcome of that meeting.

The firefighter, who we'll call Allen, wished not to be identified to avoid retribution but was compelled to give his take on what happened to Gregoire.

“It is shocking that the safety of a citizen or those of us rendering aid would be put in jeopardy just to have a lane in the freeway open,” Allen said.

Over fire communications you here another firefighter reporting what was happening.
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Firefighters have more to worry about at Camp Pendleton

Fire burns at Camp Pendleton
The Associated Press
Posted: 09/03/2009 07:41:23 PM PDT
Updated: 09/03/2009 07:41:23 PM PDT


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.—A fire is burning on a firing range at the Camp Pendleton Marine base, but officials say firefighters are keeping their distance in case of possible unexploded mines and mortar.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13265683

More than 20 firefighters reportedly injured in Station Fire

California counts cost of raging wildfires
Story Highlights
More than 20 firefighters reportedly injured in Station Fire; two died earlier in crash

California has spent $21 million fighting fire; it's 22 percent contained

Blaze encroaching on San Gabriel Wilderness Area in Angeles National Forest

Crews battle blaze near historic observatory atop Mount Wilson

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A raging wildfire north of Los Angeles has displaced thousands of anxious Californians, burning 140,150 acres by Wednesday.

Beth Halaas sifted through the ashes of her family's charred Los Angeles County home trying to find something to salvage.

"It's stuff. Hold on to some of it for traditions. But you've got to remember it's just stuff," she said on CNN's "Campbell Brown."

The so-called Station Fire forced Noel and Marta Rincon to evacuate their home in Tujunga.

"I thought that we were losing our home," the husband said of the residence where he was born and the couple raised their family.
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California counts cost of raging wildfires

L.A. County offers crisis counseling to fire victims

Most of you know I do videos on PTSD. There are several that should go here. More later.

L.A. County offers crisis counseling to fire victims
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Kate Linthicum
12:07 PM PST, November 17, 2008
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is offering free crisis counseling to victims of the Sayre and Freeway Complex fires.

"When you talk about traumatic events like these, they will be affecting people for days, weeks, months and even years after," said Ken Kondo, a spokesman for the department. "The recovery process has to start now."
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First one is that while we focus on the victims, we need to remember the firefighters trying to save lives and as much property as they can. PTSD I Grieve is about firefighters and police officers who also happen to be members of the National Guard. They train to serve here and their communities, then they get deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, then come home again. They need a lot of help.


Second one is PTSD Not God's Judgment. While it was intended for warriors, it has been used to help firefighters and police officers. We tend to come out of tragedies and wonder if God just judged us after it happened. PTSD is not a judgment against anyone.



PTSD After Trauma is for the victims.



IFOC Chaplain Army Of Love is about the Chaplains who go rushing in to help and they are never really reported on. These are quiet heroes, going where they are needed and when they are needed. It does not matter what the cause of the trauma was, usually, they are right there.



For more information about the IFOC, go here

International Fellowship of Chaplains Chaplaincy Training ...
Dave and Judy Vorce
The International Fellowship of Chaplains, Inc. (IFOC) is a non profit, providing training, recognition, certification and information

California firefighters make gains

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / AP

California firefighters make gains
Calm winds have allowed firefighters in Southern California to make gains on two raging wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee.
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