LAFD 76

How often do you eat dinner at the fire station by invitation of the Captain? Maybe you do so on a regular basis, but this was new for me and John. (I have no idea what he was doing back there. You'll just have to ask him.)

Our friend Max Hengst is a Los Angeles Fire Department Captain out of Station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass. These are the urban firefighters, paramedics and firefighter/paramedics. They're usually not up in the hills, fighting brush fires. They're down in the streets, and the situations they face are often equally dangerous.

You might remember Max. He's the author of LAFD FF/PM: Memoirs of an Outside Dog, and he was a guest author here back in 2011. Max's crew is a Greg, a William, a Rob and three Bobs.

It was Max's day to cook. The firefighters take turns. Did you know they pay for their own food? If you see an LA firefighter at the store picking up steaks for the guys, keep in mind that he's not spending your tax money. The station is very spare. Any amenities are paid for by the guys, pitching in for the comforts they want to add.

As soon as we got there, they got a call. A few minutes later another call came, and the rest of the crew headed out. John and I had the station to ourselves for a while, which is probably not okay in the rule book, but we didn't touch much.

Both calls took time. The first one was an accident in the Cahuenga Pass. A drunk driver, heading north on Cahuenga Blvd East, flipped his car onto the freeway. At rush hour. Miraculously, he didn't hit anyone else. He was pretty badly injured, but apparently too drunk to know it.

The other accident happened in the backup of the first one. A young woman was driving. The injuries were less severe. "Probably texting," William said.

Dinner was fantastic. Max made lasagna from scratch, tomato sauce and all. He also made a beautiful salad, and chocolate cake (with frosting) for dessert. It could have been leftovers, and we'd have been happy to be there. But it was a great meal and a super-nice bunch of guys, who answered our questions and shared their stories. We talked about our work and theirs, and about their families.

One of the men, I think it was Bob (but perhaps I'm using Bob as my default now and it was actually Greg?) said usually accidents happen because of either drunkenness or stupidity.

I said, "And now we have texting."

"That goes under stupidity," he said.

The same man told us why he does the job. I had thought it might be the adrenalin. He admitted that was cool, but his favorite was the day a woman came by to thank them for saving her life. She'd been working out at the gym, and she keeled over. She was basically dead by the time the Station 76 paramedics arrived. But they didn't give up on her.

Max agreed that was special. He says they usually don't get citizen feedback unless it's a complaint. Huh. These people save lives every day and they have to pay for their own dinner.

And they are gentlemen. They'd been out working on the freeways in 90 degree weather in coats that weigh at least 70 pounds, and they would not eat until John and I were served. Would not.

So I want to thank them. It's incredibly cool to eat at the fire station in the first place, and to call the Captain my friend. But what's even cooler is that we had such a nice time. And cooler than that: every single one of those firefighters is a hero, every single day.

Guest Author: E. Max Hengst, and LAFD FF/PM

Each day, Max Hengst sees things most of us will never see. He felt he had to write about them. He told me he's a little concerned some people might be uncomfortable with the profanity he uses in the book. But to write about his work without using profanity might just be dishonest, and Max is a straight talker. 
Please welcome today's guest author, E. Max Hengst.

I wrote this book because you can’t make this stuff up. I am still serving on the Los Angeles Fire Department as a Captain and have seen it all. Every firefighter and paramedic (FF/PM) says they are going to write a book. I decided to do it about four years ago. It took approximately three years to write.

What you will read will make you laugh at the insanity as well as cry at the horror people are exposed to. In the beginning the book starts out profane. That was done to show how we really are. It is amazing to see what people do to each other. It’s a good thing there are those who will drop what they are doing at the sound of the bell to help others, strangers, to clean up the mess. Unfortunately some of my brothers and sisters on the department don’t come back.

The politics on the department can be appalling. I guarantee the majority of us didn’t sign up for the politics. After the shock and excitement of responding to calls in high incident areas wear off, the politics of saving those in need becomes more apparent.

Many of the incidents that we respond to stay with us and there are not enough chemicals or therapy that can erase them from memory. Calls or runs, as we call them, are the worst when children are involved.

Many people decide to write a book of this nature once they retire. Even though I am currently on the department I decided to go forth with this project because as a writer there is that need to write and I didn’t want this book to sit in manuscript form collecting dust. Let the chips fall where they may. After writing I tested it with my colleagues and fortunately it came back positive.

I have been living in the San Gabriel Valley most of my life. I came to Pasadena after an ugly divorce. I like Pasadena because it is close to work and I don’t have to travel far for any of my wants, needs or interests. I notice the Pasadena area also encourages the arts and that is a good thing for any writer. 

I will be signing LAFD FF/PM; Memoirs of an "Outside Dog" at Vroman’s bookstore on Colorado Blvd. on December 15th at 7:00 PM. I hope to see you all there. I hope to pique your interest.

Update 3/18/12:
Max was quoted today by Steve Lopez in an article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.