All Hands on Deck for LAFD

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Millage Peaks on Monday night suspended the department's reduced coverage plan, as emergency crews attempt to respond to an increased call load brought on by heavy rains.

Call loads have more than double in recent days, said Highland Park Station Capt. Gene Bednarchik, with crews rushing out to 2,000 incidents over the last 24 hours, compared to the typical 800 calls per 24 hours load.

Through the cost-saving "Modified Coverage Plan" measure, designated LAFD companies are pulled out of their stations and used to cover for firefighters in other stations who call in sick.

Bednarchik said that, until the heavy rains and increased call loads subside, all hands will be on deck.

The most intense rainfall to hit Los Angeles since the El Nino storms of 2005 have posed an array of challenges to local firefighters, Bednarchik said.

One of the particularly vexing problems, he said, was the proliferation of downed power lines throughout Northeast Los Angeles.

Not only have lines been falling faster than ever over the last few days, firefighters have also had to work their way through deciphering just which lines belong to which power company.

"We have lines belonging to Edison, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Pasadena Water and Power, all in our neighborhood," Bednarchik said. "It makes for an unusual situation because we don't always know who they belong to."

In addition to downed power lines, Bednarchik said that the call load has also been boosted by residents taking unsafe measures to cope with the cold and damp weather.  

"It's colder and wetter outside; people are turning on their heaters, burning a lot of wood, putting their clothes on heaters in order to dry them more quickly," he said. "It's causing a problem."

There's also been a steep increase in flooded basements throughout N.E.L.A., which has already exhausted the Highland Park station's supply of emergency sandbags.

However, while people inside their homes are trying to compensate for the cold and wet weather, it is still business as usual out on the roads, Bednarchick said.

"People are driving way too fast on the [Arroyo Seco Parkway], especially for a road that narrow," he said.

For example, traffic was stalled for about 45 minutes in the southbound lane near Avenue 52 after a motorist hydroplaned upon hitting a puddle while driving at excessive speeds.

Bednarchik said that motorists who are unfamiliar with rainy driving conditions need to be aware that puddles over disguise deep and dangerous potholes.

"There's an old saying, still waters run deep," he said. "Drivers need to be careful."