Reporter boreskes and photographer WallySkalij spent 24 hours at L.A.’s busiest fire station, located in the heart of one of the most troubled places in the city: skid row. Here’s what they saw:
L.A. firefighter Jake Gonzalez wipes down a truck in between calls at Station No. 9. An L.A. firefighter takes off his gear at Station No. 9 after returning from a late-night call in downtown Los Angeles. The man in tan cargo shorts is lying on the pavement, his skin gray.
Sometimes firefighters administer naloxone by intraosseous infusion, in which a hole is drilled just below the knee and the drug is injected directly into the patient’s bone marrow. This is the quickest way to bring someone back from a overdose.L.A. firefighters on skid row put an overdose patient into the back of an ambulance.
It’s a challenge to keep Station No. 9 fully staffed. Some firefighters blame the stigma of homelessness in their district. The volume of calls and the intensity of the work mean firefighters looking for easy overtime aren’t flocking there.As a result, on the day The Times visited, one firefighter was working for his fifth straight day.
On his first day, Navarro responded to a medical call to find a man without feet in a wheelchair. His legs were wrapped in plastic, and maggots were eating away the flesh underneath. When he and other firefighters pulled the man out of his chair, they found that his whole backside was raw and maggots were crawling over his body, top to bottom.
Of Station No. 9’s roughly 22,800 emergency calls last year, about 18,850 were medical, according to the LAFD.9:46 a.m.: 501 S. Los Angeles St., Baltimore Hotel Soriano, the apparatus operator, worked the same shift as Wong but was off the day his colleague fell. He had been driving to a wine festival with his girlfriend but turned around and headed to the hospital when he heard what had happened.“A lot of the guys were really good friends with Kelly. Seeing them broken was terrible.
Gibson runs over and kneels down, attempting to get a pulse and sense of the severity of the man’s injuries. The man’s moans grow louder as the firefighters contemplate how to get him onto a gurney.Another firefighter grabs him by his pants and helps flip him over.As 6 p.m. approached, Gibson prepared dinner. While waiting, firefighters cleaned the station, tinkered with faltering exhaust pipes and examined a new ram bar, a firefighting tool for breaking through locks, doors and walls.
Skid row can be dangerous. Firefighters said they have been threatened while responding to calls. Homeless people have brandished knives, and others have picked up shovels to swing at them.Specific procedures for dealing with such incidents exist, but they still happen often enough that firefighters say they worry about ending up in a violent confrontation when responding to calls. It doesn’t stop them from caring for people on skid row, though.
Navarro’s feet are up and his eyelids are drooping. A movie is playing on the big screen as a homeless man walks into the station.The man’s thumb is nearly ripped off, pointing in an odd direction. “There’s a brotherhood that you can’t really speak about unless you have been there,” Soriano said. “We’re involved in each other’s lives. We hang out with our girlfriends and wives. We go on trips, and we have a lot of fun at the station.”
He blamed it on the lack of sleep and unceasing exposure to the generally unhealthy environment of skid row.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The 24 Sexiest Music Videos of All TimeIs it getting hot in here or is it just us?
Read more »
Ozzy Osbourne in 'Unbelievable Pain 24/7,' Has Known About Parkinson's Diagnosis Since 2003The 71-year-old singer says his biggest issue is crippling nerve damage and that despite painkillers, there is never any relief.
Read more »
Essential California: A 24-hour shift with the firefighters of L.A.’s skid rowA reporter tells us what it was like to spend a 24-hour shift with firefighters on skid row in Los Angeles.
Read more »
Ozzy Osbourne Is in 'Unbelievable Pain 24/7,' Has Known About Parkinson's Diagnosis Since 2003The 71-year-old singer says his biggest issue is crippling nerve damage and that despite painkillers, there is never any relief.
Read more »
E-Trade Shares Surge 24% After Morgan Stanley Announces $13 Billion PurchaseE-Trade stock surged up to 25% this morning after Morgan Stanley announced it would buy the online discount brokerage for $13 billion by skleb1234
Read more »
E-Trade Shares Surge 24% After Morgan Stanley Announces $13 Billion PurchaseThe deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Read more »