InfotainmentOnline.com

I don’t understand firefighters. I don’t understand how people can train themselves to rush into burning buildings, into rooms filled with smoke, flame, and dubious structural integrity. I don’t understand how anyone can quell the adrenaline enough to figure out how to wind their way through a wall of flame, rescue someone, and then fight their way out again.

When I was on the Board of Supervisors, I used to visit the firehouses throughout the city. I remember asking one firefighter how he managed to do his job and he answered, quite calmly, “you train, train, train. And a lot of times, you take a calculated risk because sometimes you just can’t tell what’s going on. And then you use your training to help you survive.”

Backdrafts. Black fires. Flashovers. Flameovers. Structural failures. These are parts of the calculated risks that every firefighter knows he or she must face when they enter a burning building. But where these are, where they may occur, is sometimes unknown, masked by walls of fire and clouds of smoke.

And yesterday, for San Francisco Firefighter Lt. Vincent Perez, the unknown claimed his life after two decades of service, and left Anthony Valerio fighting for his. A flashover — a situation when the heat in a room reaches ignition point and turns all the flammables into fuel at once — often gives a firefighter less than two seconds to evacuate a room. You can’t see it until it happens. In this case, two seconds was barely enough time for one of firefighters to activate his emergency button on his radio.

The risks for firefighters have been well known, though perhaps never so mortally demonstrated than on September 11, 2001. Firefighters — without elevators, wearing heavy firesuits and lugging equipment — battled their way up the Twin Towers to evacuate and rescue thousands of strangers. When the Towers collapsed, over 300 firefighters found themselves deep inside the stairwells with less than 10 seconds to find their way out.

San Francisco firefighters are the same kind of breed. I know — we all know — they would never hesitate to do exactly as their New York City brethren. Just as Vincent Perez and Anthony Valerio never hesitated once they saw the burning house on Diamond Heights. Rescue one person, rescue a thousand, firefighters have been and always will be there.

What do you say to people whose entire livelihood is earned by rushing into burning buildings to save people? Whose sole purpose is to risk their lives to save others?

“Thank you” is barely thanks enough. To the family of Vincent Perez, the entire City of San Francisco mourns your loss. To the family of Anthony Valerio, the prayers of the entire City are for your full recovery. And for the family of Fire Station 26, the City salutes your courage, your duty, your service, and your sacrifice.

I don’t understand firefighters. But I’m damn glad we have them, and damn proud of what they do.

FOLLOW MR. YAKI ON TWITTER @YAKIBLOG

Categories: News | Tags: Flashover, LODD, San Francisco, San Francisco Firefighters, SFGate.com | No Comments

Try This Healthy Lemonade

May 31st, 2011

If you’ve read much about losing weight or living a “healthy” lifestyle you know that water is an important part or being healthy. Experts recommend that you drink at least half of your weight in ounces of water per day. For instance, if you weigh 200 lbs, you should drink 100 ounces of water daily or a little over 3 big gulps. The problem is if you have ever tried this you know water is flat out boring and bland.