Fire Department

There?s a bit of mystery lurking in the Glendale Public Library?s Special Collections Room, in the form of three photos donated by Dave Boucher, retired fire captain for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Boucher, now the department?s historian, found the photos in their files. The three photos (one is printed with this column) show a large group of young men, members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, boarding a train in the middle of a busy street around 1933. Boucher explained why the photos were in the Fire Department?

The 500-page "Basic Emergency Plan" is the city's bible in disasters. "Disaster preparedness guidelines are for the residents, but the emergency plan is for the staff," City Manager Ken Frank said. The plan spells out what is expected of each city department in the event of a man-made or natural disaster, right down to who will handle public information and the press. Police Capt. Danell Adams was the face and voice of emergency operations for displaced families and the media after the June 1 landslide.

Jackson Bell Paul J. Flotron had an altruistic heart, a contagious smile and big blue captivating eyes, his family and friends remembered Thursday. Flotron, a former Glendale firefighter, prisoner-of-war survivor and decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War, died Dec. 28 in a Sunland convalescent home from a heart attack. He was 83. The longtime La Crescenta resident joined the Glendale Fire Department in 1954 and served the force for 27 years, retiring as an engineer.

Anyone who's anyone in Newport Beach has heard of the old Rendezvous Ballroom -- the place to be in the early- and mid-20th century. Most everyone in the city over the age of 40 remembers the fire that destroyed the popular hangout in 1966. Milt Meehan had a close view of the disaster. He was born in Orange, but his heart was always in Newport Beach. Meehan and his friends made the coastal city their destination nearly every weekend. "We'd all chip in for gas, one of the seniors would drive his Ford, and we'd drive down to the beach and back," Meehan said.

Glendale fire inspectors soon will be swapping their paper and pens for 33 Apple iPads to input data from the field. While officials say the change will increase efficiency, it also will add to the amount the city has spent on a data program, which so far has ballooned from an initially planned $1.2 million to almost $2.2 million. The City Council unanimously approved the project Tuesday. Director of Information Services Department Ed Fraga said all the glitches with the EdgeSoft software, known as City Services Interface, have been fixed, and since Nov. 2009, it has been fully functional.

Darleene Barrientos Glendale Fire and Glendale Police are different agencies, but when a fire is intentionally set, they will join forces to put the arsonist behind bars. Glendale Police Investigator Miguel Porras and Glendale Fire Investigator Mike Richardson are teamed together on the city's arson investigation team. The men will be on call 24 hours a day to identify and investigate arson fires and suspects, and ultimately file cases against them with the district attorney's office.

This is in response to Herbert Molano's Community Commentary letter on Dec. 6 ("He'll volunteer for fire duty"). I am a retired fire captain from the Los Angeles County Fire Department with 33 years of public service. After reading Molano's letter, it was obvious to me that he knows nothing about firefighters or fire departments. He suggests that Glendale should have a volunteer fire department, and that its members would be just as trained and just as effective as the present paid department.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- The day after city and fire officials gathered at a retirement party for Fire Chief Richard Hinz, his successor was approved by the City Council. Assistant Chief Chris Gray will take over the position Dec. 30. "I consider it a great honor and privilege to serve the city of Glendale," Gray told the council at its meeting Tuesday night. Gray, 44, came to the local agency in December 1986 from the Pasadena Fire Department, where he started as a firefighter and served as its union president.

Cartoon touched on grave matter Nice touch symbolizing pedestrians with headstones, seeing as that's just about the speed most of them walk while crossing the street. RICK MCCARTER Burbank What good are the crosswalks for? Re: Dorothy Botelho comments in Community Forum, Oct 14. I totally agree with her comments about more police stings in order to save pedestrians lives. There are also bad drivers in Montrose and La Crescenta who do not give a damn about pedestrians.

It's a 'calling' they get paid for, but that wasn't the point Recently, I wrote a community commentary on the absence of Armenian Americans among the 191 firefighters at the Glendale Fire Department. I accused Fire Chief Gray of failing to diversify our fire department, which, he admitted, caused a communication problem with some members of the Armenian-American community, especially the elderly who have English-language problems. I considered this a safety risk to a segment of Glendale's taxpayers.