Palisades Fire victims form volunteer fire brigade as they work to rebuild their community
Months after thousands of homes in their community were destroyed by the Palisades Fire
By Laurie Perez, Dean Fioresi
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LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) — Months after thousands of homes in their community were destroyed by the Palisades Fire, some Pacific Palisades residents have decided to take action by forming their own volunteer fire brigades.
It’s a common trend that has been happening across Los Angeles County after the devastating series of wildfires ravaged much of the region in early January. So far, there have been similar groups formed in Altadena and Topanga, joining the already established team in Malibu.
While they work to rebuild their communities, they’re also looking ahead to the next potential tragedy and getting ready to protect themselves if the need arises.
Joel Pollak is one of those volunteers, who recalled the chaotic moments that he and two men were able to save his home, and a row of others alongside it.
“Two guys drove up in a pickup truck,” Pollak said. “I had never seen them before. I think they were handymen from the neighborhood and they volunteered to help, so the three of us took a couple more buckets and we formed an assembly line putting out the fire at my house.”
He believes their actions played a large part in keeping his home standing. Unfortunately though, hundreds of others burned, something he says points to system failures.
“Even when they were able to show up, they didn’t have water. No pressure in the hydrants, not any water in the reservoir,” Pollak said of firefighters attempting to battle the rapidly spreading flames on January 7. “There were also so many other things that local people struggled with. The traffic jam on Sunset Boulevard that resulted in the fire department having to bulldoze those cars, and really could’ve cost many people their lives.”
Now, he and five of his neighbors have turned their focus on strengthening what his three-man assembly line was able to accomplish months ago.
“Ordinary neighbors who just wanted to be part of something. That’s why we started the Marquez-Knolls Volunteer Fire Department,” Pollak said.
The nonprofit team may mirror Malibu’s Community Brigade, which has recently made headlines for standing on the frontlines with firefighters in the face of recent wildfires.
Marquez-Knolls’ group already has a truck and water tanks, and if possible they’ll look to train with Los Angeles’ firefighters. Pollak said that he imagines they’ll be able to help in an even broader sense when it comes to emergency response.
“Direct traffic, they can guide people in evacuations, that can communicate with law enforcement and with the fire department, that can offer advice or first aid, and that can offer some basic firefighting skills before the trucks arrive, before the professionals arrive, or if they can’t arrive,” he said.
He says that they’re not trying to become firefighters, they just want to help in the face of an unprecedented emergency like they saw months ago.
“We’re not trying to become firefighters, we want to work with the fire department and do things to help prepare the community for an emergency. Making sure people are ready for an emergency — because we weren’t.”
As they continue to put together the first pieces of their team, they’ve started an online fundraiser to help pay for basic materials like walkie talkies and training.
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