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Downey honors firefighters deployed to LA-area wildfires
Summary
Downey City Council presented certificates Wednesday to members of the Downey Fire Department who deployed to fight and search during recent wildfires in the Los Angeles region; officials described the assignment as a sustained, multi-part deployment that included engines and urban search-and-rescue teams.
The Downey City Council on Wednesday presented certificates to members of the Downey Fire Department who deployed to help fight recent wildfires in the Los Angeles region and to conduct urban search-and-rescue operations.
The recognition, delivered during the council’s regular meeting, noted that Downey sent personnel on two types of assignments: initial strike engines and a later urban search-and-rescue (USAR) deployment. “On the morning of January 7 when the fire started … we sent two fire engines with four personnel to assist in firefighting efforts,” Chief Hildebrand said. He added that the department ultimately committed 15 members to regional response assignments and that that represented “nearly a quarter of the personnel that we have.”
The council called up battalion and company leaders who described the conditions and scope of the work. Battalion Chief George Villanueva said he led Regional Task Force 2 at the Eden and Palisades incidents and described repeated, methodical searches of burned and destroyed structures. Captain Renick Samson described inspecting sites “to ensure no one was left behind,” listing specific search areas such as bathtubs, mattress springs, pools and vehicles and noting the use of SAR COP, a search-and-rescue mapping platform, to log findings and map hazards. “Every structure received a primary search to ensure no area was overlooked,” Samson said.
Captain Patrick Runyon and Captain Rob Landers described firefighting, extrication and medical work in extreme wind and fire conditions. Runyon noted his crew helped extricate an elderly patient who required medical attention. Landers said the deployment involved long shifts, heavy equipment and repeated adaptation under pressure.
Council members thanked the crews and city leaders who supported the deployment, and the mayor presented the certificates to the assembled personnel. The council’s remarks emphasized both the regional role of Downey’s fire crews and the strain such deployments place on local coverage when a sizable share of personnel are assigned away from the city.
The council also read a tribute to the crews’ families and the members who backfilled shifts locally while colleagues were deployed.
The presentation concluded with a round of applause for the personnel, identified in council remarks and by the fire chief as participants in both strike-team firefighting and USAR operations.
