Fire Department Hosts 'Fire Ops Day'

The and Firefighters Association hosted a Fire Ops Day at the El Camino Fire Academy last Saturday.

Participants included Councilman Bill Brand, Assistant City Manager Peter Grant, , and me, your Redondo Beach Patch editor.

Designed to give members of the community a glimpse at what firefighters do in the course of their jobs, the event featured a car fire demonstration and stations where participants could use a fire hose or the Jaws of Life, climb a ladder, lift a fire hose or ladder with help from a pully, search a "smoky" building and use an ax to break through a plywood roof.

The day concluded with a demonstration inside the burn building, where attendees wore full firefighter gear and got to feel the heat generated by a fire. (Full disclosure: I didn't participate in that part.)

"I have a whole new appreciation for how hard their job is and how much they have to know ...  It was an education to say the least," Councilman Bill Brand wrote in a blog post after the event.

Special thanks to the following members of the fire department for their help:

• Chief Dan Madrigal
• Capt. Eric Baker
• Capt. Mark Winter
• Capt. Issac Yang
• Engineer Melissa De Paoli
• Engineer Brad Sweatt
• Firefighter Jeremy Sisante
• Firefighter John "Buzzy" Velasquez

Additionally, mentors from the El Camino Fire Academy assisted with the event.

Check out the gallery above for photos from the event.