Welcome Captain Gross & Captain Gates
Please join the LAFD CERT Unit in extending a huge welcome to our new CERT Commander, Captain Dustin Gates. We also are excited to welcome the new Disaster Preparedness Captain, Rico Gates. The past few years has been hard on us all. We look forward to restarting the program, the training, the refreshers, and having the Captains at the helm of the Los Angeles CERT program, which as Captain Gates states, “…is a model for other programs worldwide.”
Rico Gross, Captain II, Disaster Preparedness Officer (DPO)
Captain Rico Gross Captain Rico Gross is the Disaster Preparedness Officer (DPO) for Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD). He serves in the LAFD’s Homeland Security Division as a leader and liaison to various departments and partner agencies. He also oversees the LAFD CERT Program – the Community Emergency Response […]
Thanks so much Captains Ignatczyk & Weireter!
From left: Captain Weireter, Captain Ignatczyk, Captain Winn. As we welcome our new Captains, Rico Gross, Captain II, Disaster Preparedness Officer (DPO), and Dustin Gates, Captain I, LA CERT Commander, this means we have to say good-bye to Captain John Ignatczyk and Captain Cody Weireter.
Captain Cody Weireter became our CERT Commander in August of 2018 while still being on call as LAFD PIO (Public Information Officer.) Through multiple wildfires, structural fires, trainings, refreshers, Call-out Team trainings and deployments, Captain Weireter has been a blur of enthusiasm, organization, leadership, encouragement but foremost, creativity in the further development of the CERT program.
We wish Cody Weireter, now Captain II, all the best on his new assignment at Los Angeles City Fire Station 92. Here is a great video of an
Honoring Frank Borden, the Founder of CERT
Frank Borden, LAFD Assistant Chief (ret), passed away April 9, 2021. Below are some articles and memories of this man who gave so much to the LAFD and CERT.
Assistant Chief (Retired) Frank W. Borden Passed Away Today
By LAFD Spokesperson: Margaret Stewart
4/9/21 – Los Angeles – The Los Angeles City Fire Department is saddened to share the news today of the passing of true icon in the field of emergency management, Assistant Chief (Retired) Frank W. Borden. […]
LAFD CERT team at work…safely
At times the LAFD CERT Team has been activated for very specific tasks….always masked, distanced in their interaction with the public and LAFD. Here are some examples from Chin Thammasaengsri, South Bureau Coordinator:
UPDATE STRUCTURE FIRE KNOCKDOWN 01/15/2021 INC#1012
Along with the warmer temperatures, came requests for CERT Hydration operations at the scene of fires in Los Angeles. This one took place in the Harvard Heights section of Los Angeles (Pico & Normandie). Your CERT team was honored to be a part of the effort.
PS – After being released from the incident, we happened upon a “Still Alarm” which was a woman suffering from “difficult breathing.” We radioed it into Metro, got some of the firefighters working the structure fire, and assisted as needed until the dispatched RA arrived.
Update KNOCKDOWN Structure Fire; INC#1012; 02:55PM; 1239 S Normandie Av; https://bit.ly/3oP27XI; Harvard Heights; After being elevated […]
CERT Safety “Officer”
An LAFD Incident Safety Officer is a senior member of the Command Team on incidents. Their job is to ensure scene safety by foretelling unsafe scenarios, conditions, and behaviors before they take place. Their job commences the moment they’re assigned as Safety Officer to the stop of the incident clock, including overhaul. They are constantly weighing the risk of the action versus what will be gained by that action.
Walk the concrete halls of the LAFD Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center, a stout monster of a building, and you’ll encounter walls lined with fire incidents captured on camera: networks of hose lines strewn about in the middle of columns of apparatus surrounding buildings as black and white billowy smoke erupt from windows and vents. Daring offensive operations depicting black scarred turnouts, feet from glowing infernos as yellow and orange helmeted figures mount aggressive fire attacks from street level doorways and neighboring rooftops. Scenes […]
LAFD CERT assists Department on Disabilities Meal Distribution
LAFD CERT assists Department on Disabilities Meal Distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, CA.