-MAN: Hello? -OPERATOR: L.A. County Fire 83.
OPERATOR: We're on our way to help right now, okay?
(siren wailing, horn honking)
DAN: Yeah, male, 65.
First, like it says, in a wheelchair.
TONY: I mean, 65, maybe an innocent bystander,
but he could have instigated it, huh?
At 16s, we go on a lot of GSWs, which are gunshot wounds.
The shootings are rampant.
I start losing count.
-Uh... -There's a wheelchair over here.
DAN: Right there.
Let's just see where he's hit.
You're good right here.
-MAN: Got hit right... -Okay.
(indistinct chatter)
DAN: Let's go ahead and just cut it off.
-Let's see what we got. -Right, gonna check your wounds.
Sir, you get hit anywhere else? Let me see the arm.
There's one hole right there, Danny, on the right arm.
Danny, we got another one here on the side, Danny.
-DAN: Then, you know what? -TONY: Yeah, we got to strip and flip him.
DAN: Where's a-- Where's a light?
-TONY: It's-- He's right here. -Let's take it all off.
TONY: We've got to make sure that we count every single bullet wound,
'cause if we miss a wound, he could bleed out and die.
TONY: Yeah, we got to get him down, Danny.
(man shouts)
* In the wind and the storm*
* Keep carrying on*
* Hey*
* Yeah.*
* *
-(man shouts) -TONY: We're gonna have to lay you down, all right?
-(overlapping chatter) -DAN: One, two, three. Let's get him on there.
TONY: There's actions that you just robotically do
to try to give this person the highest probability of life.
You don't have time to think.
You need to fall back on your training
and just get in and do it.
-(man groaning) -DAN: Un, two gunshots,
one to the right upper arm and one to the right buttocks,
-upper buttocks. -PACO: How's he doing?
-How you doing, boss? -Yeah, he's, uh...
TONY: I had a, uh, 90 palp.
-ERIK: You guys get a BP yet? -DAN: Uh, yeah, he couldn't hear it.
PACO: The fact that the patient's disabled,
he's out on the street, possibly homeless,
means he's gonna have, like, uh, way more medical problems
than just an average person would.
I needed to make sure his vitals were stable.
-Yeah, so which-- where is it, arm and then hip? -(man groans)
ERIK: Arm and hip, that's all we've found so far.
-We flipped him over... -PACO: Hey, buddy?
-How you doing, boss? -TONY: All right, blood pressure's 90/60.
-PACO: Copy. Okay. -ERIK: He's responding very slowly.
PACO: Yes, I'm treating the multiple GSWs that he has.
However, he could have a bunch
of other medical problems that kind of
compounds the issues that we're trying to help.
TONY: Hold on. Relax, buddy.
-(rapid beeping) -ERIK: Can we get a tourniquet?
PACO: Anything else?
With his vitals being stable now,
I can give pain meds, and he possibly
could be going into shock, so I'm actually gonna start
giving him fluids.
Then we want to get him over to the nearest trauma center
as fast as possible.
(overlapping chatter)
-ERIK: I got a good one. -PACO: All right, boss...
DAN: You're good to go here.
-PACO: Stage two. -TONY: Thank you.
-PACO: More tape, more tape? -TONY: More tape?
-PACO: Come on, three pieces. -ERIK: Uh, Carrie,
-you got a flat ready? -CARRIE: Yeah. -Tear that in half, please.
TONY: I got an IV right here.
ERIK: All right, towards Paco.
-(man groaning) -TONY: Sorry, buddy, sorry.
We're gonna have to roll you on that side, okay?
We're gonna roll you to that-- the other side.
PACO: Here we go, one, two, three.
TONY: Okay.
PACO: You're okay, boss, just hold this on and you watch that IV.
-(man groans) -Sorry, boss.
82 on the heart rate!
-Okay, you're good? Okay. -Yeah, I'm good.
-DAN: Okay, we're good. Let's go. -TONY: I got this.
If you're, if you got a wrap around it, go for it.
PACO: 90/60. We'll give him a bunch of fluids.
How you doing, boss? Up, up.
Leonard.
My leads came off.
Check my leads, please.
Pupils are restricted.
You okay? Leonard!
-(siren wailing) -Look at me.
Give me a thumbs-up.
I'm trying to get him to communicate with me 'cause
I want to get an idea of how bad his injuries are.
Leonard, how you feeling, boss?
Is there a reason why he's not talking to me?
Is he going into shock?
Give me a thumbs-up! All right, there you go.
We're gonna take care of you, okay, boss?
Finally he started talking to me,
and I was like, "Oh, okay, cool."
Which was a huge relief,
because now I know, you know,
my pain meds are working, my fluid bolus is working,
which ultimately ended into a positive outcome for him.
DAN: Did you find the casings?
Are they? Is that what he shot from?
Oh, really?
OFFICER: Sheriff's department.
If you're inside, make yourself known!
DAN: He was just a innocent bystander,
so he was just hanging out right here.
And then I guess cars pulled up and started shooting, so...
-They must have... -TONY: Hit the window, too, huh?
DAN: They were just shooting, shooting, 'cause it's
two shots there, bunch of casings over there, so...
-ERIK: It still slowed it down, huh? -Yeah...
DAN: It's tragic that an innocent bystander's life
could be ended in the blink of an eye.
And it happens all the time in that area.
But it's a good feeling knowing that we were able
to help him and save his life.
-We're good? Okay. -Yeah.
That run went good. You guys, uh, got on it, right?
You needed to do what you needed to do
and you guys made me proud, so that was good. So, good job.
* I've been born in hell*
* And back again*
* I won't go down*
* Whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh*
* Whoa-oh-oh*
* Rise up and face the fire*
* Gotta stand my ground*
* No, I won't go down...*
SCOTT: All right, let's go hit Saúl.
Uh, me and Donny have been getting fruit from him for
about five, seven years now.
Hello, Saúl. How you doing?
SAÚL: Oh, very good, thank you, Scott.
Very, very nice today.
Saúl's been here about, uh, eight years.
-SAÚL: Pineapple is good? -Yes, pineapple.
-SAÚL: All right. -A little bit of strawberry on top.
SAÚL: Oh, okay.
-Pineapple. -SCOTT: Come on, Donny.
What do you want? It's on me.
Just the, uh, pineapple, uh, coconut and cantaloupe, please.
SCOTT: We go by Saúl probably eight to ten times a day.
We usually see him when we're going to runs,
and then on the way back, we'll stop and get some fruit.
It's important for us to know the members of our community.
They are why we're there.
We're there to support them and to help them.
How you doing today, ma'am?
WOMAN: I met him a long time ago.
-Oh, you ran into him a long time ago? -Do you? What'd I do?
WOMAN: You came to my house to save my husband.
-Oh. -Oh. He did, huh? -Yes. Yes, he did.
WOMAN: I'll never forget that, as long as I live.
-How's he doing now? -He's doing beautiful.
Oh, good. Glad you came up and talked to us today.
-WOMAN: Yes, it's a blessing. -Appreciate it.
Especially Donny. He saves a lot of people.
He don't like to take credit for it.
-I just hope we did good. -WOMAN: Yeah.
SCOTT: Donny's been around for a long time,
I've been around for a long time.
We've helped a lot of people in our community,
and they're calling us on the worst day
of their life, usually.
And for them to remember us and to thank us later,
that makes me feel good
that we did everything we could.
We did a good job and we helped these people.
WOMAN: And I like, when-when you go by...
-Yeah? -...and I like to hear that horn.
-(imitates horn) -(laughs)
SCOTT: Ma'am, what's your name?
-WOMAN: Lomax. -Lomax. That's for Ms. Lomax.
-That's on us today. -SAÚL: No, Scott, it's free.
-No, Saúl, you take it. -Sure?
-Yes, I'm positive. Thank you. -Oh, okay. -WOMAN: Thank you.
I'm glad we were able to help your husband out.
-WOMAN: Thank you. -Especially Donny.
-SAÚL: Oh, thank you, my friend. -DONNY: Thank you.
-SAÚL: Bye, amigo. Thank you. -SCOTT: Saúl,
you have a nice day. We'll see you later.
* *
* When the devil drives me down*
* Well, in dreams, enemy*
* It's either you or me*
* We're buried six feet underground*
* But I keep rising up*
* I keep rising up*
* No surprising 'em*
* I keep rising up.*
OPERATOR: L.A. County Fire Department, Operator 33.
-MAN: I'd like to report a fire. -Okay, where at, sir?
-MAN: Right behind my house. -Okay. We have help coming.
They're on their way, sir. Thank you.
(siren wailing)
Everyone, hold on.
Going to a grass fire.
And you should see it soon.
Yeehaw.
-Smell it. -I smell it, baby.
(radio crackling)
STAN: L.A. Engine 37. That's 37-8 and 37-10.
DISPATCHER: Showing on scene. 2540, respond. All units, continue.
STAN: This fire is impressive,
and it has the potential to get much bigger.
(speaks indistinctly)
I'll help pull it out for you. I'm-a grab a hand tool.
STAN: Yeah.
It's far away from us, and it's dark.
We have no idea what's between us and that fire,
but we've got to get out there quickly.
-DEREK: Hey, Stan! -What do you need?
I'm gonna need help pulling this thing.
STAN: If we don't, the wind is gonna take this thing running.
There's a lot of fuel between here
and the next break, which is homes.
(indistinct radio chatter)
DEREK: Engine 37, do we have more line?
(grunts) That's it?
(indistinct radio chatter)
-All right. -MAN: Need more pressure there!
MATT: That's hot.
DEREK: Did you say that was the end of the line?
MAN 2: 37 firefighters, that's it on the hose.
DEREK: Sometimes the grass fires start in the middle of nowhere.
They don't always start right next to the road.
Parking far away sometimes, you definitely got to account
for that distance and the possibility
of where it could go.
So it can pose a little bit of a challenge.
I know that our reel line will reach 300 feet.
Anything past that, we're gonna need to extend the line.
And I made sure that I grabbed a one-inch hose pack
so I can extend my line.
STAN: 131-37,
we got our line all the way to it.
It's, uh, it's all of our reel line.
If you want to pull a second one, help us out,
you know where we're at. No, no, no, no. No more.
DEREK: Hey, Stan.
Uh, Matt's gonna bring another section of one-inch
just so I can get a little farther and clean this up.
I'm at the end of the line here.
DISPATCHER: Copy that. Confirm position.
SPECIALIST: Hey, do you need more hose? That's it for the reel line.
STAN: 131's bringing their line up, Derek.
DEREK: Copy.
STAN: 37 specialist, give us foam if you got it, please.
-SPECIALIST: I'm right here. I'm bringing the one-inch. -Copy that.
-When you get back, give us foam, please. -All right.
(grunts)
STAN: We're gonna hold it about a 20-by-30 spot here.
Derek got on it pretty quick and was able to make
a good stop on it, so we'll have another
engine company help us out just mopping it up,
and should have it out in about 30 minutes.
MATT: Alvizo.
-DEREK: Yeah? -He'd love a little water
-right where my light is. -DEREK: Copy.
MATT: Uh, right there.
Just a little to your right.
-Little more to your right. -Is that better?
(laughs)
-You missed it that first shot. -DEREK: Are you sure?
STAN: That plastic piece right there was lit in the grass around it.
That blue plastic?
I think we're looking pretty good.
Keep working that center, and we'll call it.
-DEREK: Copy. -STAN: Once that other engine arrived,
we got the hose line out, knocked down the head
of the fire very quickly.
We did it safely. No one got hurt.
We were able to stop it
from turning into something much bigger,
which is always our goal here.
-Everybody good? -That was good. -Yep.
Let's go back home.
STAN: When you were, uh, deploying the water,
you kept spraying left of your target.
And you got me one of the times,
-so I don't know if that was... -I don't know what happened.
Yeah, there might have been something in the nozzle.
You might want to check that, too.
-It kept diverting right to me. -Right to you?
-Yeah. -Yeah, I don't know anything about that.
STAN: All right, we'll look into that, too.
* *
DAN: Call lineup. You guys good?
PACO: All right, sounds good.
Lineup, lineup, lineup, lineup.
ERIC: What time do they do lineup at 36s? Geez.
DAN: Who we missing?
Romeo and...
Gunn and... and, hmm.
-Who else is missing? -(laughs)
DAN: Good morning, gentlemen, uh, everybody knows where they are.
Uh, Squad Romeo, Engine 502.
So, Engine 16 is Riccelli driving us.
We got Gunn and we have a new firefighter
Olivas here riding with us.
I'm not gonna treat him like my kid.
I'm gonna be hard on him. No babying here.
My son Jeff is following in my footsteps.
Pursuing a career with the L.A. County Fire Department.
ANNOUNCER: Jeffrey Olivas.
(cheering, applause)
DAN: Jeff recently graduated from the fire academy.
He is a boot at another station.
He can't be assigned to Fire Station 16
because he is my son and it is against the rules.
But one of the guys at 16s is out for a week,
so Jeff is filling in for him.
Both chiefs agreed that it would be okay
that he work with me at 16, so they allowed it to happen,
which was fantastic.
Yeah, I thought he was Esteban's kid.
-(laughter) -Hey. What the...?
Hold it. You did...?
Wha...?
Hey, Chris. I didn't like that.
PACO: Chris is just mad
'cause he's not Dan's favorite anymore.
JEFF: Dad's been working at Fire Station 16 for 20 years.
I mean, some of these guys kind of know me when I was a kid,
and then now me being at the station, working under them,
as a firefighter now, it's definitely pretty surreal.
PACO: Untouchable today.
He could give you special treatment.
-CHRIS: Special treatment? -No, you...
Special treatment or you'll turn me in for work--
doing the nepotism?
I don't make the rules. I just follow 'em.
DAN: I've been waiting my whole life
to work with my son, and-and today's the day,
and it's the best feeling you could ever imagine.
I'm overjoyed inside, but I-I can't show it
to the guys, because...
they'll eat me alive if I show it to 'em.
So that's it. Just, uh, stay busy all day.
If he misses anything, hit him hard on it.
Just treat you like a boot, so...
We're done. That's it. I'm-I'm good.
CHRIS: Yeah, there's a little tear coming out of your eye
-right now. -(laughter)
* You know I can't stop*
* 'Cause I don't know how*
* This rolling thunder's gonna shake the ground*
* I'm chasing fire*
* And I'm never burning out.*
(alarm ringing)
DISPATCHER: Engine 41, assault ALS, domestic disturbance
with young children involved. State for sheriff.
SCOTT: Whoa, fight in progress. Come on, we got to hurry up.
We got reports of people and kids in there.
Come on, we're gonna go up with the sheriffs, you guys.
We just got to do what we got to do
and, uh, try and be as safe as we can.
Domestic disturbances are bad calls,
and I've been on a lot of them.
And a domestic violence call
is one of those calls where somebody
can get hurt very easily.
A fight in progress or something?
-Oh... -Female.
SCOTT: When we get there, there's two deputies there,
and they say there's a guy
beating a woman right now upstairs.
-Sheriff's department! -Sheriff's department!
Hey, open the door or we're taking it down!
I don't know if that person has a gun.
I don't know if he's already killed somebody
or if she's already killed somebody.
I don't know who's behind that door and what they have,
but, you know, somebody needs help.
(baby crying)
So, we'll pop the door and then you want to take a look?
All right, go for it.
Watch out, we're opening.
-It's the fire... -Open the door!
Open the door!
ERIN: We don't know what's on the other side of the door.
And the fact that sheriffs are out of the way,
and realization kind of sets in that there really is nothing
between us and what's on the other side of that door.
-You better stay back. -But my personal safety
kind of takes a back seat
because we need to make access and try to help
those people as quickly as possible.
Sheriff's department. Open the door, dude.
-OFFICER: Sheriff's Department. Open the door! -QUINTANA: Open the door!
-All right. -Okay, boss, turn around. Put the baby down.
MAN: I'm not putting my baby down.
You're gonna put the baby down, dude.
We need to talk to you real quick, okay?
We want to talk to you guys.
MAN: All right, I'm putting my son down 'cause he-he's crying.
He's crying. He's going through it right now.
Okay, put the kid down, and then we're gonna talk to y'all.
-Okay, boss? -MAN: I'm holding my son.
ERIN: Okay, do you want to hand me the baby?
-Do you want to have the... -Sir.
Scuoler, bring the baby out. Bring the baby out.
MAN: 'Cause it's my-- it's their birthday.
I'm trying to hold my baby.
-ERIN: After, okay? -OFFICER: Hi.
Is this where your husband...
As soon as the door is kicked open
and the officers go in to deal with the suspect,
we're immediately going in, I'm looking for victims,
and at that point I'm just trying to get the kids
out of that situation.
You got that one, Cap?
-Yeah, I got that one. -(stammers)
-(indistinct chatter) -OFFICER: So, what happened?
You guys are just fighting each other?
SCOTT: So, you guys heard it going on?
WOMAN: Yeah, I heard it for a long time,
'cause I kept looking over at the kids,
saying, "When are the sheriffs gonna come up?"
-Yeah. -Okay. Yeah, I heard it.
-Okay. -He's a cutie.
-And she heard it before I did. -Oh, you heard it, too?
Yeah, I went to, I went to the second floor.
All you hear was her screaming and he's, like, dragging her.
He's dragging her around?
-WOMAN: You hear her screaming. -All right.
SCOTT: Is she okay?
We'll check her. Quintana.
ERIN: Come on, come this way.
Let's go talk to Mama.
QUINTANA: They take him down?
Ma'am, do you need any medical attention?
-Okay. -You're not hurt?
SCOTT: Uh, we got the kids. The kids are fine.
We're just gonna hold them for a minute
while the sheriffs talk to you, okay?
ERIN: It's very frustrating to me that these kids
are in this environment, and I'm grateful
that they were only two
and hopefully don't recognize what's going on.
-Do you see your brother? -Yeah. Hi.
Hi, brother.
Say, "Hi, Mama."
(cries)
SCOTT: Oh, you're Grandma? You want 'em both?
So, let's, uh, we'll go back inside with you with them.
-Okay? How's that? -(crying)
Okay. Oh...
So, they were having an argument,
and it sounded violent, so we had to kick the door in.
Because it...
-Okay. -Take that son of a bitch to jail.
So... Let's go over here while they talk to her.
Here's your baby. Got 'em both?
ERIN: That's the nature of our job.
We take patients to the hospital,
and we might not hear how they end up,
or we then leave kids after a dangerous situation,
and not knowing how their lives are gonna grow up to be.
You know, it does kind of make you wonder,
in the back of your head, but at the same time
you just got to try to move on and help them
as best you can in the moment.
SCOTT: Sheriffs will take it from here.
Uh, it looks like everybody's okay,
-so... -Sure. Thank you.
All right, you guys have a nice day. Thank you.
Knowing that I was able to go into that dangerous situation
and be effective
and help the people who I needed to help
obviously feels great.
SCOTT: Hey, Quintana, Scuoler, good job on that.
Luckily, when we got in there, nobody was, uh, seriously hurt.
It just looked like they had a fight
with some stuff thrown around.
We had the best outcome that we could have had on that call.
And, uh, you think, at what point
am I gonna stop getting lucky?
But you balance that out with protecting life,
serving your community,
and, uh, hopefully everything goes okay.
Scuoler, if you're gonna do something like that,
like Quintana was staying to the right of the door,
that's how we got to try and do that, in case...
my biggest fear is if they have a gun on the inside.
We do have the sheriffs right there with their guns,
but still we're at risk.
We-we take an oath just like the sheriffs do, so...
Obviously, when there's kids involved,
I'm like, "Hey, we're not-- we're gonna go in."
* You can't hold me down*
* No, you can't hold me down*
* I'm alive*
* Oh-ho-ho*
* Whoa-ho-ho.*
DISPATCHER: Engine 9, Squad 16. Medical rescue.
-PACO: Engine only? -ROMEO: Yeah, Engine Squad.
Just run to the rigs, put everybody en route.
JEFF: Yes, sir.
(indistinct radio chatter)
(siren wailing)
DAN: So we're going on a male, one years old,
ingested a Tide Pod.
Working at 16s, you got a lot of knowledgeable guys
willing to teach all the young firemen
that come through there.
Any time Jeff can learn from those knowledgeable guys,
it's a plus.
Best training is hands-on in the field.
That's when you're gonna learn the job.
(indistinct radio chatter)
(barking)
JEFF: Hello? Fire department.
PACO: Is this our patient, ma'am?
JEFF: Excuse me, ma'am, do you mind lying him down over here?
DAN: You want to keep him out here, Jeff. Jeff, bring him out.
JEFF: So, we can bring him out.
PACO: No, you can hold him. That's fine.
As long as he's comfortable.
Now, what's going on?
So, he bit into it and then, like, some of it squished out?
Okay. How's his mouth looking right now?
How's he been acting since then?
MAN: Get a pulse ox on him, too.
You can, you can put it on his big toe.
PACO: Copy that.
The biggest danger with swallowing harmful chemicals
is that they'll burn the esophagus
and they can burn, also, the airways.
The inside, those chemicals are just interacting
with that soft tissue
and it'll eventually start to close it off.
And while they're presenting just fine,
they can go into respiratory arrest.
ROMEO: 90...
-100% pulse ox. -(crying)
There's a vehicle that's gone over the road.
Somebody's still trapped.
SAGELY: L.A. Copter 1-9 on scene.
KEITH: Hold your forward.
BAUMANN: You doing all right, bud?
PACO: We'll check him out, make sure he's okay.
Does he have any medical problems?
I don't see any irritation.
There's no redness, there's no swelling.
No bleeding.
-It's all normal and pink... -(crying)
-DAN: Do you have a diaper bag? -WOMAN: Yes.
-Okay, perfect. -PACO: Okay, they got the bag, cell phone,
change of clothes, diapers, all that. Perfect.
ROMEO: You guys, we're just gonna have Mom sit with the baby.
DAN: You'll be okay. He'll be-- he's going to be fine.
Hey, buddy. You're gonna be okay.
-(crying) -PACO: Right over here.
Well, ma'am, we'll have you sit down, and you'll just hold him.
We'll take your backpack for you, though.
We'll just put it back here, okay?
-DAN: Fixing the seat belts? -PACO: Got you.
(crying)
PACO: So, half an hour ago, uh, he'd bit into a Tide Pod,
and then has basically been crying ever since.
At this point, the child is checking out. Lungs are clear,
heart rate's good, blood pressure's good.
There's no visual burns to his mouth or to his throat.
However, I don't know how long any of these chemicals
are gonna react with him in any adverse effects.
So I got to get him over to the hospital
as quickly as possible.
ERIK: Oh, hey, help me close the door.
JEFF: Copy that.
ERIK: Let's say you're like, "Okay, I have to get in here."
JEFF: Uh-huh, so you just cut it
just above here and then right here.
ERIK: Yeah, but all the way through. (imitates whirring)
You know what I mean? So I might even cut here
-just 'cause that's in my way, you know what I mean? -Yeah.
Because that-- there might be a mystery bolt
that you don't see behind that lip when you're...
Gunn is a forcible entry expert.
He's also a forcible entry instructor for the county.
Every time we come upon any kind of door, fence, window,
we always learn little bits and pieces from him
on different ways to open something like that.
ERIK: So, this garage door, you can just cut it.
I'd probably grab that chain saw,
just come right there, dig in.
(imitates saw) Go that way. Just two cuts.
PACO: In this case, we were showing Jeff
different ways to open a locked door.
-DAN: Hey, Gunn. -ERIK: Yes.
DAN: Good job on the forcible entry stuff.
Gunn's one of the best on the job here at forcible entry.
Jeff, you're learning from one of the best on the job,
so suck it in, be like a sponge, and put it in your carousel.
Yes, sir.
(alarm beeps)
I think it's gonna be one of those nights,
starting up right now.
* I come from the water*
* I come from the rocks and the dirt*
* Yeah, I am bigger*
* And we are the angels of the earth*
* Believe when I say*
* You will remember my name.*
DISPATCHER: Engine 41, vehicle fire at 126th and Broadway.
-ERIN: Vehicle? -SCOTT: Vehicle fire. Yep.
-(siren wailing) -DISPATCHER: Fire alarm, 116.
All right, we're going down to Athens Park.
This is a long haul for us.
This is the very far end of our district.
If 95s or 14s are on it, they can beat us over here sometimes.
There it is.
DONNY: Hey, Erin.
-It's gonna be on Dave's side. -(laughter)
SCOTT: Car fires are dangerous.
There's a lot of things that will explode
on a car fire.
You can get a strut that explodes
that'll shoot right into your leg.
You have magnesium that burns
at thousands of degrees.
Go, go, go, go, go.
(man shouts indistinctly)
You also have a gas tank that, if that explodes,
can be a danger to everybody on the scene.
So we need to put out car fires fast.
(indistinct radio chatter)
Hey, listen up! Hey, listen up!
DAVE: Ready for water.
SCOTT: I can sense Erin's disappointment.
For the last six months since she's been here,
we put her on the nozzle on every fire.
So, now that Scuoler's got off probation,
now she's going to have to share.
Dave is working this fire very well.
He puts out the tires,
puts out other hot spots. He's using his water
very sparingly.
And that's what we want to do.
That's what a professional firefighter does.
So Scuoler's learning that this is how I put out
a fully involved vehicle
and still maintain my water supply.
DISPATCHER: They're advising their first unit is just arriving now.
SCOTT: We got the spot right there.
You still got some underneath in here, Dave,
down below right there.
You might have to throw some water
on that engine for a minute.
ERIN: When I first was interested in the fire department,
I was more so interested in the medical side of it.
And then, now learning about the actual fire side of it,
that is now all I want to do.
It's just such a rush to get to be
in there fighting fires.
Looks like everything's already out.
SCOTT: We all good, Donny?
Yeah.
ERIN: Well, that was fun.
For Dave.
I'm happy that the fire was
put out and that everyone was okay.
Of course, it was Dave on the tip,
so I'm going to hear all about how now he's
the baddest one of us.
DONNY: Erin, good job, Erin.
(laughter)
Typical shift for Erin right there.
ERIN: We're super competitive, but at the end of the day,
that's all that matters-- that we are able
to put the fire out and that we're a team while we do it.
L.A. Engine 41. We're going to Balboa.
If they have another run, give it to us.
OPERATOR: L.A. County Fire, Operator 73.
About how far do you think they're down?
-All right, they're on their way now. -MAN: Okay.
(dispatcher speaking indistinctly)
Three-quarters of a mile north of Soledad Canyon from the 14.
BAUMANN: Yeah, we, uh, checked it.
We'll keep an eye on it. He's good for it for now.
L.A. County is probably one of the most
unique areas in the United States.
We get a lot of vehicles over the side where
just extracting those patients to an ambulance
is going to take 30 minutes.
Whereas a helicopter,
we can go in, hoist somebody down, make a rescue,
and fly 'em to a trauma center within a matter of minutes.
SAGELY: L.A. Copter 1-9 on scene.
BAUMANN: Copy. Down and left. I'm gonna transition him out
-and hold him at the door. -SAGELY: Okay, copy.
BAUMANN: As crew chief on a hoist rescue, I'm in the back
operating the hoist, and I'm sending my downside
crew member down to wherever the patient is.
Depending on the train, he'll either come off the hook
and assess the patient, or he'll stay on the hook
and make a rescue, and then we'll bring him back up
to the helicopter.
40 feet of cable out.
The pilot's going to get close to our target,
and I'm going to guide him in, and then
I'm going to get my downside rescuer right on that target.
75 feet of cable out.
Continuing right for ten.
In a perfect world, he arrives at the target the same
time we arrive over it, and then we'll count down to him.
KEITH: The winds are definitely getting a little stronger.
BAUMANN: Hold your right. Let's come forward for five.
Our hoist rescues are very dangerous and high risk.
Four, three...
It could be a very treacherous scenario very fast.
...two, one.
Right through here. Bring that reel line through here.
JEFF: These mobile home fires,
they burn hot and they burn quick.
-DAN: So, there is a gas leak there? -Yes.
DAN: Watch that line, it's ready to burst.
Two, one.
You doing all right, bud?
Little bit of a swing.
Hold your forward.
Directly underneath us.
KEITH: Gloves on the ground. 100 feet of cable out.
I've got the target in sight.
We've located the patient.
BAUMANN: Hooks in his hand-hold right there.
Making the connection now.
Got assigned to come up, up helicopter.
Good.
Ten feet from the steps.
-Come forward. -Forward flight.
Coming up to the steps.
-Transitioning in. -Okay.
BAUMANN: We're flying him to the hospital in an air ambulance.
It'd be no different than going in a paramedic ambulance
by ground, but we're getting there a lot quicker.
This patient had the best outcome possible.
(screams)
The Air Squad transported to the hospital
in a short amount of time,
and he's able to tell a story about it.
When we pull off a successful rescue like that,
I mean, there's no better feeling in the world.
You're never wishing ill on anybody,
but you want to be that person, to have that opportunity
to save that life, and I think everybody does
here at Air Ops.
* I keep on fighting*
* I keep on running*
* I keep on searching...*
DISPATCHER: Engine Squad 41, difficulty breathing, Compton Avenue.
-Cross is 126th Street. -(siren wailing)
SCOTT: All right, we're going over
under the 105 freeway to meet our pal Rodney.
Rodney is one of our regulars. He always has chest pain.
Uh-oh, we got deputies coming the other way. Code.
There's a horse coming at us.
-SCOTT: There is a horse coming at us. -(Erin laughs)
SCOTT: A Willowbrook horse. Don't get hit.
ERIN: How's it going, sir?
Uh, n-not good.
Not good right now?
I always wanted to be a firefighter
to help people and, you know,
be that person for them on their worst days.
Just helping people who maybe don't have the means
in order to help themselves.
-Feel like you're having a heart attack? -Yes.
What is the-- Can you describe the pain for me?
-What does it feel like? -And I can hardly breathe.
ERIN: It might seem like smaller problems to others,
but to them it's a huge problem,
so just trying to give everybody
our best possible service, no matter what time
of day or night that they end up calling.
My partners here are gonna put some stickers on you.
We're gonna do the whole thing, okay?
Yes.
SCOTT: If you could just relax this arm?
She's gonna take your blood pressure.
ERIN: Okay, so how long has it--
you-- have you been feeling the pain?
-MAN: 30 minutes. -30 minutes?
ERIN: 132/56, so it's pretty good.
It's all about trying to calm 'em down.
Any of the tests that I run, I make sure I read
the results out loud to him
so that he can hear that his blood pressure
is within normal limits, he's in sinus heart rate,
and all the things that he's very worried about,
it's okay, let's take a deep breath
so that we can actually figure out what's going on today.
Take deep breaths, don't get worked back up.
Here, you want to put your sweatshirt back on? You cold?
Sure, I'll help you put it back on. There you go.
I think I want to go to the hospital.
-You do want to go tonight? -Yeah.
Okay. We'll walk you over,
we'll sit down on the gurney, okay?
The more I do this job, it's just helping improve
that kind of bedside manner and getting to know our patients
and what they need to help feel seen and heard
and let them know that we're here to help
and that, at this point, we're gonna take care of them
so they don't have anything else to worry about.
You're feeling a lot of pain?
(grunts)
What does it feel like? Same as before?
Does it feel sharp? Is it more--
Can you point with one finger where it is?
I feel like I've grown so much as a firefighter,
and I am just,
I'm so excited to get to go to work every single day,
and I'm so excited to get to go to work with my guys
and my crew, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.
Yeah.
DISPATCHER: Please respond to a now-reported structure fire...
(continues indistinctly)
-(distant shouting) -Tony, let's go.
We got smoke, so...
(indistinct radio chatter)
(siren wailing)
-Oh, there's smoke. -RICCELLI: What, it's Florence?
Yeah, Florence.
I never, ever wish for a fire
or want anybody to get hurt in a fire,
but we are firefighters.
I have always wanted to fight a fire with my son.
Deep down, I always knew it could happen.
And I think today is the day.
(dispatcher speaking indistinctly)
16 on scene. Do you have an assignment?
DISPATCHER: Fire 1-6, do you show as available?
16, copy. Available.
I'll meet you over there.
Come on, man, let's go.
Grab your tool.
Grab a tool.
Go see what they need.
JEFF: All these different agencies, you know, all the training,
all the things I've done has prepared me up to this.
I really hope I don't let my dad down.
DAN: Tony, hey,
he's gonna j-- mask up and help you guys out.
Just go help him, make sure primary, secondary is done.
In the back of your mind, you're going,
"Does he have what it takes to go into this fire?"
Is he gonna be scared? I hope he has what it takes.
-Does he need a blower? -JEFF: Uh, we need a reel line, too.
DAN: Jeff, yeah, right through here.
Bring that reel line through here. We got...
Go. Take it on in.
DAN: Take it in. Go.
Take it on in. Watch that line.
It's ready to burst. Drop all this right above you, Jeff.
Yeah, there you go. Just make sure that's out.
It's still coming up there.
It's hard to take your son into the fire
knowing that he is your son and you don't want him to get hurt.
To the left, go to left, left.
Yeah, just hit that. High-- good.
But, uh, it's a thrill to take him in there
and to talk to him, going,
"Let's go, kid. This is what heat feels like."
So, there is a gas leak there?
Oh, I smell it right now.
Jeff, make sure you don't go through the floor.
-JEFF: Water coming. -Yes.
JEFF: On these mobile home fires,
they burn hot and they burn quick.
Can be a lot of lightweight material
you could fall through, things like that.
So you always have a little bit of nervousness,
but it's also a lot of excitement, too.
DAN: What do you got up there?
The top of the eaves is still smoking.
DAN: Hey, Jeff, you get in there.
DAN: I think we're good, John.
They said it was good inside.
They-- there's nothing coming down. I think we're good.
Jeff, uh, performed very well. He did good, I'm proud of him.
The emotions inside were just running
like a circus inside me.
You don't want to show it to the guys that, hey,
you're, you know, giving hugs and kisses and stuff,
but you-- you're happy inside
and, you know, you're just, "Good job, son, good job."
What's the number one thing we're looking for
when we go on a motor home fire?
What's our number one concern?
-Life safety. -There you go. Life.
A lot of old people live in motor homes,
so always remember, life.
That's the first thing, but excellent job, guys.
Good job.
These kind of fires are tough,
and, uh, nobody got hurt, and we did some good work.
MIKE: How was that?
Uh, it was pretty awesome.
Definitely pretty awesome.
I'm still looking around, you know, still taking it all in,
but yeah, learn something new every time.
DAN: I did say that the day
I get a structure fire with my son,
take him into the fire, is the day I'm gonna retire.
But after today, working with Jeff,
going into that fire with him,
I think there's a couple more fires
I need to have with him, too, before I hang it up.
I had, I had too much fun.
Olivas, I need you to get off a lot quicker than that.
You were a little slow, okay?
We're gonna leave your ass next time.
-Yes, sir. -(laughter)
* Spread our wings and fly*
* Oh, we'll spread our wings and fly*
* Mm...*
-(cheering, applause) -All right, let's do it, man.
-Todd, how you doing? -Hey, what's up?
Todd, how you doing?
Good to see you. Good to see you.
-What's up, buddy? -Dave, man, good to see you.
Congratulations, man. God, it's awesome.
-This place is nice. -Is your son here?
DAN: He's coming down now.
-This is cool, huh? -This is really cool.
Nice-- I like it. It's gonna do well.
Two bird juices
coming up, a little full.
-Let Tony get the first round. -Standing rule is,
firemen come in to drink, first round's always on me, so...
-That's the way it goes. -Well, thanks, Dave.
Here's to the new guy, he's late on his first day.
-DAN: Yeah. -(laughter)
-Here he is, right here. -(cheering, applause)
-Congratulations. -PACO: Traditionally,
when someone is baptized by fire,
you go out and celebrate afterwards.
DAN: Cheers to Jeff, man. Cheers, kid.
You got it. Cheers to L.A. County Fire now, kid.
30 long years now.
Cheers, kid. I'm proud of you.
Everyone talks about heroes, and we didn't take
this occupation to become heroes.
DAN: It's a very dangerous job.
Things can go wrong at an instant.
You're risking your life for your guys
and they're risking their lives for you and you're going into
a lot of crazy situations.
TONY: Look at that fire. Oh, my God.
Usually, people run away from these incidents,
and there's a handful of us that runs towards them.
The gift itself is in the doing.
That to me, is the gift of-of being a firefighter.
DUSHONE: When you call 911, you just know that they're here
and they're gonna help you out 100%.
GRAY: We aren't anybody special.
We're just normal
men and women that just happen
to wear the county badge.
Help me!
SCOTT: We do see a lot of horrible things.
(man groaning)
WOMAN: Wait a minute! Where is he?!
-Ma'am, he's fine... -SCOTT: But it's about
doing your job, serving the people,
that oath that you took,
and living up to it.
-We're having a contraction. -(screams)
That is the most
rewarding job that you can have.
ERIN: For me, it-it wouldn't be difficult
to go in and save someone.
Like, I wouldn't have to think twice.
Should I risk my life? Like, the answer's yes.
I love what I do, but there's nothing
like the satisfaction you get where you feel
like you've made a difference in somebody else's life.
-(man screaming) -We're gonna help you.
SHEILA: I have truly loved working for the county.
I want to just be a good example
of how you can give back to your community
-and treat people right. -TONY: Working in the area
that you grew up in, to help the people that you were
surrounded by, it's something you love.
It's my life.
And we are all a team.
We all help each other. That's the brotherhood
that you don't even think about that's there all the time.
One of the beauties of the fire service
is they're not just coworkers, they're friends,
they're brothers, they're-they're a family to you.
(all oohing)
I've had the opportunity to rescue people
out of burning buildings.
(siren wailing, horn honking)
That's what our job is all about.
That's why I come to work every day.
This is the greatest job in the world.
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Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org