Flame Keeps Their Memories Burning

Burning brightly in the midmorning heat, the flame snaked its way through the San Fernando Valley on Thursday, borne by Los Angeles city firefighters honoring comrades who went to extinguish blazes and never came home.

“I know the type of job we have,” said Fire Capt. Percy Jones. “I know when the alarm goes off, it could be the last sound I hear. When a building is burning, people usually run out of it. We run into it.”

As part of the Los Angeles Fire Department Fallen Firefighters Memorial Torch Relay, every battalion in the city is getting a chance to jog a stretch with the torch. The relay began in June and is to continue into October, said Chief John Duca of the southwest San Fernando Valley’s Battalion 17, which ran its 13 miles Thursday.

The relay honors the 59 men and women who have died in the line of duty and 180 others who died as the result of a duty-related injury or illness since the city’s Fire Department was established in 1886. Organizers also aim to generate awareness -- and, they hope, money -- for the city’s first firefighter memorial in Hollywood.

“When it was mentioned, it wasn’t a question for me,” said Jones, who was among the dozen or so runners from seven stations Thursday. “To give back to the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice, I said, ‘Sign me up.’ ”

Beginning shortly after 9 a.m., the relay wound south on Reseda Boulevard to Ventura Boulevard, then west to De Soto Avenue before ending about noon in West Hills. The starting point was Station 73 in Reseda, where firefighter Jaime Foster was based. Foster was killed last year when a fire engine backed over her as her crew was leaving a house fire in Encino.

“Today is not just for Jamie but for all those that never got to go home,” said 27-year fire veteran John Lee, who carried the torch on the first leg. “It’s important people recognize this isn’t a typical 9-to-5 job.”

At nearby Station 93, firefighter Dominic Pascal, 50, was honored. Pascal died in 1975 when his firetruck jackknifed, crushing him, Duca said. In those days, firefighters clung to the sides of firetrucks as they went roaring down streets. And those on the inside didn’t always wear seat belts, he said.

“Things have changed a lot since then,” Duca said. What remains the same is the long-cherished notion that the department is one big family. “You don’t want to forget your family members, and we don’t want to forget ours.... It’s a significant, emotional event when you lose someone in a fire.”

The memorial, with an estimated price tag of $1.5 million, is to be displayed in the front courtyard of the old Station 27 on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. About two-thirds of the money has been raised for the memorial, which is to feature life-size bronze statutes and a “wall of flames” inscribed with the names of firefighters killed in the line of duty, Duca said.

Firefighters participating in Thursday’s relay agreed that some sort of memorial in Los Angeles was long overdue.

“It’s not one of those things people think about,” said Capt. Bill Waite, a third-generation firefighter who rode a shiny red Harley-Davidson in the procession. “Not until they experience an emergency.”

For more information on the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund, call (213) 978-3810 or go to www.lafd.org.