Glenn Allen Memorial

Glenn Allen, 61, had been with LAFD for 36 years, having joined in July of 1974, according to the mayor’s office. He was one year away from retirement.

Allen was part of the team that battling a blaze at 1546 N. Viewsite Drive in the Hollywood Hills just before midnight on the 16th. In addition to Allen, three other Los Angeles firefighters and two Los Angeles County firefighters were injured.

Per LAFD policy, a formal investigation is underway to determine the cause of Allen’s injuries and the circumstances surrounding his death.

“He was doing what he wanted to do. He was doing what he loved. He was serving the City of Los Angeles,” said LAFD Chief Millage Peaks. “Glenn Allen spent 36 and a half years of his life serving the City that he loves, serving the City that he lives in and serving a City that he was very proud of.”

A statement from the fire department reads:

“The men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department thank you for your kind words and sentiment at this time of overwhelming sorrow and immense loss. The Allen Family and the Los Angeles Fire Department has received a tremendous outpouring of support during this difficult time. Your firefighters wish to thank you and express our deepest appreciation for all the kind words and gestures that have been provided.”

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered all city flags to be lowered to half-staff in Allen’s honor.

In a statement, the mayor said, “Today, I join all Angelenos in mourning the loss of Firefighter Glenn Allen, a fearlessly committed firefighter who dedicated 36 years of his life to protecting the people of Los Angeles. Glenn was a valiant hero whose selfless sacrifice will forever be honored. This tragedy serves as a somber, yet powerful reminder that the brave men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department put their lives on the line each and every day to keep us safe from harm. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Firefighter Allen and his extended family of Firefighters at LAFD.”

In a statement, Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian said, “I was deeply saddened today to learn of the passing of Glenn Allen, a brave Los Angeles city firefighter who died in the line of duty this week. This was a tragic reminder of the daily risks the heroic men and women of our Los Angeles Fire Department face and the inspiring courage they constantly exhibit. I extend my deepest sympathies to his family during their period of grief, and to all the men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The entire city family shares in their grief and stands in solidarity with them.”

In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said, “Los Angeles police officers join our brethren firefighters in mourning the death of Los Angeles firefighter Glenn Allen, who died from injuries he suffered while fighting a fire on Wednesday. The death of Glenn Allen is a tragic and sad reminder of how much gratitude we owe to first responders, who routinely put their lives on the line for the public’s safety. We must remember the ultimate sacrifice Glenn selflessly gave after more than 38 years dedicated to protecting and saving the lives of Los Angeles residents. Our thoughts are with the Allen family, whose lives will be changed forever, but we hope they can take solace in knowing that Glenn was a hero and that as his extended public safety family, we will always be there to support them.”

LAFD Candlelight Vigil, Glenn Allen

Chief Millage Peaks lights a candle for a loved one at tonights service at Fire Station 78 in Studio City.

Photo Copyright Jeff Zimmerman

Council Members in San Luis Obispo Attack Local Unions, Andrew Carter Attacks Fairness At the Bargaining Table

San Luis Obispo City Council Attacks IAFF Local 3523 regarding Binding Arbitration, Show your support to the Firefighters, blue collar workers who dedicate their lives to help others.

Unbelievable attacks this week on organized labor. Read more at http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/02/22/1493661/san-luis-obispo-voters-to-decide.html

LAFD Memorial Service

Memorial Service

Friday, February 25, 2011

The walking Procession (Public Safety and Dignitaries only) will begin at 0830 hours.

The Procession will start from the South Lawn of City Hall (1st Street & Main Street) and end at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (A distance of five city blocks). Check-in for personnel will begin at 0600 hours at the intersection of 1st Street & Main Street (please arrive as early as possible prior to start time).

Memorial Church Service:

The Memorial Church service will begin at 0930 hours at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, located at: 555 West Temple Street. At the conclusion of the walking procession, members will be seated within the Cathedral. The service will last approximately two hours.

LAFD, Glen Allen, LODD

LAFD A 38-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department who was injured earlier this week after a ceiling collapsed during a blaze at a Hollywood Hills home has died.

Glenn L. Allen died at 12:15 p.m. Friday, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. He was 61 and about a year from retirement, City News Service reported.

"The Allen family and the Los Angeles Fire Department (have) received a tremendous outpouring of support during this difficult time. Your firefighters wish to thank you and express our deepest appreciation for all the kind words and gestures that have been provided," said Scott in a statement.

"…Glenn was a valiant hero whose selfless sacrifice will forever be honored," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "This tragedy serves as a somber, yet powerful reminder that the brave men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department put their lives on the line each and every day to keep us safe from harm."

Image Gallery: Firefighters Battle Hollywood Hills Blaze
LOOK
Image Gallery: Firefighters Battle Hollywood Hills Blaze
Villaraigosa ordered the city's flags to be lowered to half-staff.

Firefighters were on the roof of the 12,500-square foot home when it collapsed, said LAFD Captain Tina Haro. Colleagues had to use chainsaws to gain access to Allen and pull him out.

Allen was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in grave condition.

He was awaiting the birth of his first grandchild, which is expected in a couple of days, said fire Chief Millage Peaks.

In addition to Allen, two other firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and three from the Los Angeles City Fire Department were injured, but were listed in good condition, Haro said.

The fire at 1546 North Viewsite Drive, near Sunset Plaza, was reported at 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday and knocked down at about 1 a.m., said Devin Gales, of LAFD.

Two residents had only been living at the home for about a week and escaped the fire without injuries, Gales said.

Unbeknownst to firefighters, the fire had burned through sprinkler pipes in the attic and filled the space with water, Haro said. The weight collapsed a drop ceiling held in place by 2-by-4-inch wood struts, Haro said.

The ceiling came crashing down, burying the veteran firefighter, Haro said.

"Our rapid intervention teams came in and they could see his turnout coat under the rubble," Haro said.

Using chain saws, they cut up the ceiling and pulled him free, then used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive him, the captain said.

An investigation is under way, Scott said.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Los Angeles First Published: Feb 18, 2011 1:14 PM PS

LAFD, LODD

United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 is saddened to announce the loss of one of their own in the line of duty.

Los Angeles Firefighter Glenn Allen died Friday afternoon, February 18th, two days after being gravely injured battling a structure fire in Hollywood Hills.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, Brother Allen was performing his duty when the ceiling of the structure partially collapsed. Five other firefighters, including two members of Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014, were also injured in the collapse. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Brother Allen was in his 36th year of proud service to the citizens of Los Angeles, most recently on "A" Shift at LA Fire Station 97. He is survived by his wife and one daughter, and was looking forward to the birth of his first grandchild.

Thunderstorm Warning:

Strong thunderstorm activity over Santa Barbara County, Lompoc, moving north east, mesocyclones on radar. 4:12 PM

Winter Weather Warning Statement

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/lox/Wxbriefing/feb172011/player.html

Injured LAFD Firefighter

UPDATE: 1561 N Viewsite Dr.* *FIRE WITH FIREFIGHTER INJURY* * LAFD firefighter is still in grave condition; family and Department members are by his side; one other firefighter is listed in good condition; two others were treated and released; LAFD Fire Chief awaiting additional information from doctors at Cedars-Siani Medical CenteFirefighter in grave condition after ceiling collapse in Hollywood Hills

A Los Angeles city firefighter was battling for his life Thursday
after a ceiling collapsed during an overnight blaze in the Hollywood
Hills. Sprinklers in the residence on North Viewsite Drive, as well
as water from fire hoses, weakened the ceiling, which collapsed and
injured firefighters inside, officials said.

Firefighters had to use chainsaws to gain access to the injured man
and pull him out, City News Service reported. The critically injured
firefighter was not breathing after he was rescued and required
resuscitation at the scene. He was then immediately rushed to the
hospital.

Two firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and three
from the L.A. City Fire Department also were injured but were in good
condition, reports said.

r. - Devin Gales

Maryland Wildfires

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/weather/2011/02/fires-in-maryland--8609.html

From the ABC 7 Weather team
FORECAST DISCUSSION, WEATHER
Fires in Maryland sprout up in forests, marshes; 13 reported this week
February 16, 2011 - 03:12 PM

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EmailPrint By John Metcalfe (Twitter @hurricalfe) Text size Decrease Increase

(A controlled burn at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri. Photo courtesy of Mike Hollingshead of Extreme Instability.)

These dry, windy conditions are making it easy for wildfires to spurt up and rage across Maryland. The state’s DNR Forest Service has encountered 13 different hot spots this week alone, with two of the larger fires consuming some 3,500 acres of marshland in Dorchester County.

The biggest of the two, which forestry folk are calling the Irish Creek fire, has charred almost 3,000 acres of marshland in the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area on the Eastern Shore. “Three thousand acres at one time is a pretty big fire, and its size is a direct correlation to the weather conditions on Monday,” with high winds and low moisture, says state fire supervisor Monte Mitchell.

Fires in the marsh aren’t unusual for this time of year. But their origins are. There hasn’t been any lightning or anything else that would create a spark this week. While it’s still unknown how these particular fires began, the majority (above 98 percent) of forest fires in Maryland are caused by people, says Mitchell. The usual suspects, in decreasing order of frequency, are outdoor debris burning, arson, careless children and mechanical equipment.

The forest agency is prepared to handle these kinds of fires; its battalion of suppression vehicles includes wildland fire engines, fire dozers to cut fire breaks in the woods and an amphibious Marsh Master. On average, the state sees 660 wildfires each year covering 3,600 acres of land.

A lot of the time, because of the inaccessibility of the marshland, firefighters will simply venture out by boat to keep an eye on the flames until they die out.

Anyone out fishing will want to stay far away from any smoke. According to the forestry agency:

Fires also represent the greatest fear for human safety, according to Glenn Carowan, Refuge Manager of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

“We have people out on the marsh almost on a daily basis. I hate to think about what might happen if someone were to set fire to a piece of marsh when one of our folks was out there conducting some study,” said Carowan. “These fires move through the marsh quicker than a person can run, especially with hip boots and cold weather gear on.”

Thunderstorm Warning

Strong thunderstorms from Santa Cruz to Oakland: Storms have arrived. 10:50 am

Heavy Snow Fall and Thunderstorms Ahead, Red Flag for Panhandle

Winter storm warning in effect for Friday in SO CAL, low snow levels and thunderstorms. Antelope Valley may see snow flurries tonight.

Red flag fire warning in panhandle area.... Red flag warning remains in effect from 10 am to 6 PM CST
Thursday for strong winds and low relative humidity for all of the
Texas and Oklahoma panhandles...

* affected area: in Oklahoma... Cimarron... Texas... Beaver. In
Texas... Dallam... Sherman... Hansford... Ochiltree... Lipscomb...
Hartley... Moore... Hutchinson... Roberts... Hemphill... Oldham...
Potter... Carson... gray... Wheeler... Deaf Smith... Randall...
Armstrong... Donley... Collingsworth.

* Wind: southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph
are expected Thursday across the Texas and Oklahoma
panhandles.

* Humidity: lowest relative humidity values will fall to 10 to
15 percent Thursday across the area.

* Timing: critical fire weather conditions are expected
Thursday afternoon into early Thursday evening.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Avoid the use of open flames or any activities that may generate
Sparks. Accidental ignitions will have the potential to quickly
become dangerous wind-driven wildfires.

Stroke Awareness

Strokes are rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people, a sign that the obesity epidemic may be starting to shift the age burden of the disease.

The numbers, reported Wednesday at an American Stroke Association conference, come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age. Government researchers compared hospitalizations in 1994 and 1995 with ones in 2006 and 2007.

The sharpest increase — 51 percent — was among men 15 through 34. Strokes rose among women in this age group, too, but not as fast — 17 percent.

"It's definitely alarming," said Dr. Ralph Sacco, American Heart Association president and a neurologist at the University of Miami. "We have worried for a while that the increased prevalence of obesity in children and young adults may take its toll in cardiovascular disease and stroke," and that appears to be happening, he said.

Stroke still takes its highest toll on older people. For those over 65, there were nearly 300 stroke cases among 10,000 hospitalizations in the more recent period studied. For males 15 to 34, there were about 15 stroke cases per 10,000, and for girls and women in that age group there were about 4 per 10,000.

Several small studies had recently suggested an ominous rise among the young and among middle-aged women.

"We were interested in whether we could pick that up in a much larger, nationwide dataset," said Dr. Mary George, a stroke researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers examined federal records from a sample of hospitals in 41 states, covering about 8 million cases each year. They looked at the percentage of all hospitalizations for stroke by gender and in six age groups.

For every 10,000 hospitalizations in 1994-95 compared with 2006-07, strokes rose:

_51 percent, from 9.8 to 14.8, among males 15 to 34 years old

_17 percent, from 3.6 to 4.2, in females 15 to 34

_47 percent, from 36 to 52.9, in males 35 to 44

_36 percent, from 21.9 to 30, in females 35 to 44

"The increases seen in children are very modest, but they are more so in the young adult age groups, and we feel that deserves further study," George said.

Better awareness of stroke symptoms and better imaging methods for detecting strokes in young people could account for some of that change, but there is no way to know, she said.

Trends went the opposite way in older people. Strokes dropped 25 percent among men 65 and older (from 404 to 303 per 10,000 hospitalizations), and 28 percent among women in this age group (from 379 to 274). Doctors think better prevention and treatment of risk factors such as high blood pressure in older people may be contributing to the decline.

At the University of California at Los Angeles, doctors are seeing more strokes related to high blood pressure and clogged arteries in younger people, said Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of the stroke center at UCLA.

Early estimates from 2007 death certificates suggest that stroke is now the nation's fourth leading cause of death instead of the third, partly because of better treatments and prevention among the elderly. "But at the same time we're seeing this worrisome rise in mid-life," Saver said. Allison Hooker, a nurse who coordinates stroke care at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., said her hospital also is seeing more strokes in younger people with risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, alcohol overuse and diabetes. "I'd say at least half of our population (of stroke patients) is in their 40s or early 50s," she said, "and devastating strokes, too." Also at the conference: _A preliminary study raised concern about diet soda and stroke risk. Researchers surveyed about 2,500 adults in the New York City area at the start of the study and followed their health for nearly 10 years afterward. Researchers found that people who said they drank diet soda every day had a 48 percent higher risk of stroke or heart attack than people who drank no soda of any kind. Researchers adjusted for differences in other risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure. Lead researcher Hannah Gardener of the University of Miami had no explanation for the findings but said that for those trying to cut calories, "diet soft drinks may not be an optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages." _The same study also found higher risks for people consuming more than 1,500 milligrams of salt a day — the limit the American Heart Association recommends. Researchers found that stroke risk rose 16 percent for every 500 milligrams of salt consumed each day. Those who took in at least 4,000 milligrams had a more than 2.5 times higher risk of stroke than those who limited themselves to 1,500 milligrams. A teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium. About three-fourths of the salt we eat, though, comes from processed foods, especially tomato sauce, soups, condiments and canned foods. ___ Online: Stroke conference: http://www.strokeconference.org

Strong Winter Storms Strike Mid West

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110203/ap_on_re_us/us_winter_weather

For So Cal the Offshore winds are going to diminish today but high pressure will remain in control with clear skies.

SYNOPSIS...

HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN THROUGH THE WEEKEND...AND OFFSHORE
FLOW WILL CONTINUE...KEEPING SKIES CLEAR ACROSS THE REGION. A
WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN ON FRIDAY...AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE
WEEKEND...WITH TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN MOST AREAS BY
SUNDAY AND MONDAY. A RETURN TO ONSHORE FLOW WILL BRING A COOLING
TREND FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.


.SHORT TERM (TODAY-SAT)...CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION THIS
MORNING. OFFSHORE GRADS HAVE WEAKENED...AS HAS UPPER SUPPORT FOR
WINDS...AND CONSEQUENTLY WINDS HAVE DIMINISHED ACROSS THE MTNS AND
VLYS OF L.A. COUNTY. WHILE LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THE MORNING...WDSPRD ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED.
THEREFORE...WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.