Fighting the fires

Jenny Marder

In three days spent trying to protect a neighborhood of 17 homes in

Rancho Cucamonga from being ravaged by uncontrollable fires, Fire

Capt. Brian Gerardi got only four hours of sleep.

Gerardi, 40, was among thousands working long, sleepless hours

under severe conditions to fight the flames that have stretched for

miles along parts of Southern California. While his strike team was

successful, the fires have already taken 16 lives and destroyed more

than 1,500 homes.

“It was pretty scary one time,” Gerardi said. “There were high

winds, a lot of fire and a big front coming toward us. The fire was

going on a diagonal to us, and if the winds would have shifted toward

us, we would have felt a lot of heat.”

The Huntington Beach Fire Department has dispatched four engines

and 25 of its 140 firefighters. Two engines are in San Bernardino,

one in Simi Valley and one in San Diego. Each engine has a captain,

an engineer and two firefighter-paramedics. Gerardi and his crew were

relieved by another engine on Monday, but may be called back out to

Big Bear.

The firefighters report that they’ve seen more fire over the last

72 hours than they’ve seen in their entire careers, Division Chief

Jacques Pelletier said.

“In some cases, they were effectively able to stop the spread of

the fire from the brush into homes,” Pelletier said. “In other cases,

they couldn’t do it.”

Gerardi, who fought the Laguna Beach fires in 1993, said that he’s

never seen anything like this.

“We were out there with a lot of other firefighters with extensive

experience, and they’ve never seen anything of this magnitude,”

Gerardi said.

The fire is only part of the battle. Firefighters must also fight

heat exhaustion and fatigue, which is exacerbated by two layers of

protective wear and temperatures that reach 105 degrees.

“Strenuous activity, heat and a lot of wind really dehydrates

you,” Pelletier said. “They’ve got to take in a lot of water.”

Gerardi said the fatigue factor was the hardest part. He slept two

hours on the hose bed of a fire engine the first night on duty,

worked through the night the second night and slept barely two hours

on the third.

“It’s hot, it’s stinky, you’re dirty, you’re fatigued, and you

miss your family something fierce,” Gerardi said.

Gerardi’s wife, Susan, said it’s hard not knowing what her

husband’s doing or where he’s stationed.

“I didn’t hear from him for two days,” Susan Gerardi said. “It’s

kind of a scary, unknowing feeling. But I’m very proud of him that

he’s out there, doing what he loves. I think of us sleeping in our

nice beds while he’s out there.”

Gerardi’s two teenage daughters stayed up late the other night

consoling each other.

“They ask every day, ‘Did daddy call? Do you know if he’s OK?’”

Susan Gerardi said. “They’re very scared, but they’re also very proud

of him.”

Despite all, morale is high at the Huntington Beach Fire

Department headquarters. Fire engines and equipment are performing

without any hiccups, and safety gear is holding up well.

“Our organization has a really high morale,” Pelletier said. “When

firefighters do what they’re trained to do, there’s a lot of pride

that goes with that. They always feel bad for the victims, and it’s a

tremendous stress, but it’s also an opportunity for them to do what

they were trained to do.”

All engines dispatched to the fires are backfilled with a reserve

engine, and the Huntington Beach stations are fully staffed by

firefighters, many of whom are being called in to work on days off.

“We have 100% staffing currently, and we’re trying to maintain

that the best we can,” Pelletier said.

While danger is always at the back of his mind, Gerardi is hoping

to get sent back to the front.

“We’re here to help people,” Gerardi said. “When we’re given the

opportunity to do that, that’s what it’s all about. When we’re given

the opportunity to save a house, it’s all worthwhile.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.